To the editor:
Re: The B.C. government announced in September it has committed up to $100,000 a year to share costs of “urban deer management operations,” with an advisory committee to guide communities in reducing the risks and damage caused by deer.
Thanks but no thanks!
Now and then deer come down to nibble on my grapevines, and sometimes a bear, too, comes down from the hills to help me harvest the grapes. They’re a nuisance, I know; and if I got up early enough in the morning, I’d chase them away - if I could, or if I dared. Instead I let them be.
To tell the truth, I actually feel sort of honored that they show so much appreciation for my garden. But now the government is offering to fund B.C.’s communities to get rid of the deer (and presumably the bears too).
I do hope our own community will decline the government’s kind offer with a thanks but no thanks note, and with a reminder that we here choose to let these animals do their thing.
Sure, they take away some of our fruit, but don’t we owe it to them for allowing us to grow it on what is after all their land?
Ermes Culos
Ashcroft, B.C.