Lyme Disease
Hunting does not reduce Lyme disease. The ticks who carry Lyme disease are spread more by mice than by deer. University of Maryland Medicine recommends a product called Damminix to kill the ticks who live on mice. Read one Damminix success story. To target the ticks who live on deer, the American Lyme Disease Foundation recommends four-poster deer treatment bait stations to control Lyme Disease.
Car/Deer Collisions
Hunting does not reduce car/deer collisions, since hunting actually increases car/deer collisions. Click here to learn more. A more effective way of preventing car/deer collisions is the use of roadside reflectors, which can reduce collisions by up to 90%.
Landscaping
Hunting will not stop deer from eating shrubs. As long as attractive food sources like hostas and tulips are available and unprotected, the deer will consume them. To prevent damage to landscaping, homeowners can fence their property or choose deer-resistant plants. View a list of deer-resistant plants online, or just ask your local garden center. Also, deer repellants such as Deer Out have proven highly effective.
Crops
Hunting will not stop deer from eating crops. As with residential landscaping, as long as attractive food sources are available and unprotected, the deer will be attracted to the property and will consume the crops. New Jersey farmers can now take advantage of a NJ Department of Agriculture program that subsidizes deer fencing to protect crops. Also, deer repellant systems such as Plotsaver can be used.
Deer "Overpopulation"
Even the Monmouth County Park System admits that the deer are not biologically overpopulated. The Park System claims that the deer are damaging the forests, but if the deer are not overpopulated, the "damage" is the normal result of a healthy deer herd feeding on its natural food source. When/if the deer become overpopulated, insufficient food sources will reduce the population naturally. Hunting does not reduce the deer population because the remaining deer will have more food, which increases their fertility. Read the report by Honor and Nonviolence. Although the deer in Monmouth County Parks are not overpopulated, the deer herds in New Jersey are growing because the deer are managed by the State Division of Fish & Wildlife to maximize hunting opportunities. Read the report by the Center for Animal Protection. The state should stop manipulating the environment to increase the deer population.