Re: Results not at all clear on urban deer (Letters, Dec. 21)
To simplify the issue of urban deer as ‘a few hundred letters of complaint’ trivializes this growing problem for everyone in the Capital Regional District – not just people like myself who live in Oak Bay and enjoy walking my dog in my neighbourhood. I want to know I don’t have to fear for my safety.
The urban deer problem is not just a garden issue for ‘residents of Oak Bay’ and I take exception to that comment.
Numerous individuals that I know who enjoy walking their dogs, or just walking within their neighbourhoods, have had encounters with deer, which is both frightening and dangerous. Friends I know have been charged by deer, especially during rutting season, and some have had close encounters with them while driving.
Unfortunately, we cannot turn the clock back 100 years and enjoy letting the urban deer run free.
A humane and responsible solution to this problem should be at the top of the list for all CRD municipalities. But trying to co-exist with the urban deer is becoming more and more of a danger and one we cannot ignore.
Christine Ash
Oak Bay