After our class discussion on the history of hunting and trapping in the Adirondack Park, I felt compelled to investigate the topic further. My rural origins taught me that hunting is a necessary and justified practice, but what would the data say? After looking into the views against hunting, its vitality, and its impacts in the Adirondack Park, I feel confident asserting whitetail hunting is a necessary practice and has no significant negative impact on the whitetail deer population in the Adirondack Park.
The conversation begins with the question of why people dislike hunting. Many contend it is cruel to kill an innocent animal who has thoughts and feelings of its own. Furthermore, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) organization argues that it is more ethical for an animal to die of starvation or disease due to overpopulation rather than being shot and killed (PETA, 2016). I question whether starvation and disease are more justified terms of death rather than killing an animal swiftly and using its meat for nourishment? Hunting may be more prevalent in modern times as a sport than a mandatory practice to provide for one’s family; however, its importance for controlling deer populations is unwavering.
Deer feed primarily on grass, tree saplings, forbs, and mushrooms- the greens of the understory of forests, which are paramount to the reproduction of flora (Mississippi State University, 2019). Deer diminish these plant life by consuming them before they can mature. For example, with trees this creates a forest of aging trees but much fewer young to repopulate (NY DEC). Also, deer grazing habits interfere with farming outside of the woods, where deer feed in gardens. This may seem like a minute problem, but it becomes a more significant issue when small-scale farmers cannot produce enough soybeans, corn, or lettuce in the growing season because their products are being picked off by wildlife. Finally, perhaps the most apparent assault deer unintentionally lend is their risk to motorists(See image 1.). On average, there are almost 200 deer-related fatalities every year in the US, and the odds of hitting a deer are 1/116 (Dobric, 2020).
Hunting is necessary to control deer populations, but it also contributes 1.5 billion dollars to the New York state economy each year which goes to habitat preservation, managing/maintaining parks, and conducting land surveys (NY DEC). Harvested deer serve as a sample for testing chronic waste disease, monitoring tick prevalence, and gauging population sizes (Ladd, 2019).
As it turns out, specifically in the Adirondacks, whitetail hunting is not causing enough damage to incite alarm. With the number of hunters declining across the country, only 5% of Americans hunt (Rott, 2018). In the Adirondacks, the deer population is estimated to be between 60,000-80,000, with hunters only harvesting an average of 21,459 bucks in the entire Northern zone of NY(no data for the Adirondack park specifically) (Ladd, 2019, Forever Wild, 2019). Thus, the deer population is not on a negative trend, and certainly not at the hands of hunting. Despite differing opinions on the morals of hunting game, deer hunting is an essential part of controlling deer populations and has no severe impact on the deer population of the Adirondacks.
“2019 Big Game Season.” ADKHunter.com, 2019, http://adkhunter.com/2019-hunting-season/.
Ag & Natural Resources. “Deer Ecology & Management Lab.” What Do Deer Eat? | Deer Ecology & Management Lab | Mississippi State University, 2019, https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/deer-diet.php.
Dobric, Mirjana. “30 Surprising Deer Accidents Statistics.” Petpedia, 14 Dec. 2020, https://petpedia.co/deer-accidents-statistics/.
Forever Wild. “Mammals of the Adirondacks: White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus).” White-Tailed Deer | Odocoileus Virginianus, 2019, https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-mammals-white-tailed-deer-odocoileus-virginianus.html.
NY DEC. “White-Tailed Deer.” White-Tailed Deer – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6965.html#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20more%20than%20500%2C000,support%20management%20activities%20of%20NYSDEC.
Rott, Nathan. “Decline in Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays for Conservation.” NPR, NPR, 20 Mar. 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation.
“Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary.” PETA, 25 Feb. 2016, https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/sport-hunting-cruel-unnecessary/.