Deer cull in Okanagan

[fishertwo]

Back in 1990 I owned a sports shop here in Kelowna.the game wardens came in and asked if, As president of the traditional bowhunters of bc, That maybe I could come up with some archers that would like to participate in a bowhunt for deer that needed to be culled in west Kelowna. Well needless to say it sounded great. So they gave us Half a dozen permits to take 6 deer and see how it worked. This was in Feb,the idea sounded great at the time. march of 1990.However arrows do not kill as quickly as a bullet. This is not news as every bowhunter knows. The first deer taken was shot through the heart ,lungs. A perfect 15 yard shot. the deer still ran 40 yards and died on the side of the street where 5 or 6 kids were waiting to get on the school bus, the deer was taken away right away, but too late. The kids had seen.I drew my bow to take a very short shot, And saw a man and wife watching from their front room window, I put my bow down and left, Three deer were taken. Now the bucks drop their antlers in Jan and Feb. If we would have thought about this , It is unlikely we have have participated, As the three deer killed each had twin fetuses. as you can't tell the difference between bucks and does very easily. We stopped it and I informed the fish and wildlife that it was my opinion ,that if the orchardists wanted to protect their property. BUILD A HIGHER FENCE. the problem would be rectified.Killing of these 9 deer did nothing to help the problem. they just keep coming back, so , as a hunter I would sooner see the landowners bite the bullet, and fence their land.that is my humble opinion.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... im-at-deer

[dirtybiker]

Great insight and first hand knowledge and experience.
Methinks BCFGA needs to hear your important input.

[Ptolemy Soter]

Your experience is is important. Thank you for sharing it.

However, plenty of hunters would disagree with your assertion that a bow kill is not as quick as one from a rifle. Often this is the case, yes, but not as a rule.

[blueliner]

Yes the orchards + vineyards that are having this issue with deer just build a deer proof fence . Cant blame the deer , there just looking at a easy meal , just like a downtown food kitchen .
But wait knowing the tree fruit industry they wouldn't spend any $$ out of there own pocket to do it
Don't think Rona or Home Depot got a government grant to build there fences

[Anonymous123]

If the cull is approved it should only be allowed on the orchardists property. There should be a stipulation requiring the orchardist/farmer to have the animal dressed and butchered by a licensed butcher shop and then donated to the food bank or soup kitchen.

[lensbaby]

If the cull is approved it should only be allowed on the orchardists property. There should be a stipulation requiring the orchardist/farmer to have the animal dressed and butchered by a licensed butcher shop and then donated to the food bank or soup kitchen.

Better still - don't approve it. Deer are a way of life in the valley. Anyone having an issue with that should sell and move to the city.

[Anonymous123]

We are in the city, it's called Kelowna.

[blueliner]

We are in the city, it's called Kelowna.

Well that city was at one time not long ago the tradition winter range for the deer .

[MAPearce]

Open fire .....

[bidwell2]

The deer don't do appreciable damage to the orchards. Orchardists these days lease multiple acreage and it's all about scraping another million $ out of the cherries. Fences just push the deer onto the roadways. If they try to cull the deer on my property i will sue.

[Fancy]

If they try to cull the deer on my property i will sue.

To get the meat?

[Queen K]

Here is my personal concern about the downtown Kelowna deer: God knows I have hit a deer when I first started driving. It was on Hwy 33 out in the middle of nowhere between Rock Creek and Beaverdell. The deer came up over the side of the road suddenly and the van I was driving spun completely around and I was facing the other way. No traffic, only a deer hurt in a ditch and needing to be put down.

Back to downtown: try hitting a deer here and spinning and not hitting another vehicle. Or person, or cyclist or pedestrian.

It's not that I find deer droppings in my gardens.
it's not that a deer can be aggressive and attack.
It's not that a deer has no or few resting places now that every damn wildlife corridor has been built on by developers.

It's safety for people.

Lords knows I have deer and fawn photos from Rotary Marsh. And of them crossing Water Street and going into the corridor.

Enchanting? Of course, everyone loves to see the deer families, when they're young. Dangerous? Yes.

I have to agree a cull needs to be done. So sad for all. Usually I'm a live and let live person too.

[techrtr]

Leave deer alone. We're taking over their habitat so they're moving into ours. I'm sick of people whining about wildlife in the city. Move to the concrete jungle if you don't like it.

[Fancy]

Zero reason to have a herd of deer taking over a neighbourhood - cull them.

[Thinktank]

Here's where math is important again. If the deer "keep coming back" which they do,
then it will be impossible to kill 100% of the deer.

So - kill some of the deer. Just kill a percentage - fifteen deer per year - in the orchards. Not near schools or cities.

We killed all the geese in Penticton so rich wealthy
people downtown wouldn't have dirty shoes when they walk in the park. We slaughtered 100% of the geese and no
one had a problem.

So why not slaughter a few deer every year. And leave a few.