[Durham INC] council's decision regarding deer hunting

[Dorothy Potter Snyder]

Let's remember that we humans with our endless building are taking away the
deer's habitat which forces them ever closer into suburban areas. This is
their land, too. There is no harm the deer do that merits death, unless you
figure that the loss of the tip of a branch of an an ornamental should be
punishable by death.

No one is welcome to hunt here in my yard, or in our neighborhood. I will
stand up against any suggestion to kill creatures within city limits.

Peace,
Dorothy Snyder


On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Rebecca Board <becca at cyberlily.com> wrote:

> Personally, I support the City Council in this.  I'm a strong supporter of
> gun control, but I also believe that within the city limits the only good
> deer is a dead one.  They breed like bunnies, have no predators except cars
> to cull the population, and they cause a lot of damage.  I've wanted a way
> to cull my personal deer population on a city lot for decades now, and
> would feel a lot better about bringing in an archer than someone with a gun
> - not necessarily because the weapon does less damage, but because it takes
> more skill and thought to use a bow than to pull a trigger.
>
> Sounds like the hunter in the story below didn't care if what he was doing
> was legal or not, endangered others or not,  disturbed the peace or
> not, caused him to trespass or not.  My question is how do we keep jerks
> like this from being allowed to hunt anywhere with any type of weapon?
>
> As many gun problems as we have in this country, archers and even hunters
> with single shot rifles are pretty low on my list of threats.
>
> BUT, if I'd had the experience of the person below, I'd probably have sent
> the same letter.  It's understandable.  But personally I've heard a lot
> more stories about problems caused by deer than stories about crazy hunters.
>
> --Rebecca
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 10:29 AM, Melissa Rooney <mmr121570 at yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>> Please see the following/forwarded message to the Council from my friend
>> Carol Young. While I agree with ecologically sound ways of dealing with an
>> overpopulation of deer when it exists, I am also concerned about allowing
>> people to hunt deer within city limits, whether with a bow, a boomerang,
>> whatever. The story described below is an example of the situations that
>> can (and have) developed (and this is with hunters on what is presumed to
>> be gameland).
>>
>> I am interested in others' thoughts on the matter.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Melissa Rooney
>>
>> > Dear Council,
>> >
>> > Once again I'm informing you of our latest disturbing experience with a
>> "law abiding" hunter.
>> >
>> > As background information, there is a narrow spit of land between Lake
>> Park and Lyon's Farm north of Scott King Rd. that was included as NC
>> Gameland as part of the Jordan Lake 240 foot contour line. When this area
>> was designated as Gameland, there was only the beginning of construction of
>> Lake Park in the late 1970's. To the west was nothing but undisturbed
>> forest save for a few homes scattered along the dirt roads all the way to
>> NC 751. The distance between Lake Park and Lyon's Farm encompassing this
>> Gameland is between 300 feet and 500. Clearly this area should no longer be
>> part of Gameland due to its proximity to homes.
>> >
>> > Today in the late afternoon, a hunter trespassed on my neighbor's and
>> my property to access the northern edge of Gameland, less than 150 feet
>> from my property to set up a his deer stand aimed into a wooded area that
>> is within the city limits. I watched him as he scoped into this area and
>> advised him that he was aiming into the city limits and I would call the
>> police if I saw him shoot illegally. I further advised him to turn his
>> stand around facing into Gameland where he would be legal. In the two plus
>> hours he was there, he maintained his aim into the city limits.
>> >
>> > I alerted a neighbor to the hunting activity as he was about to walk
>> his dog in this area. He walked down to our property with his dog and
>> talked to my husband who was finishing up yard work and at that point, not
>> interacting with the hunter. By this time it was dark and my neighbor
>> shined a light on the hunter and asked him what he was doing. The hunter
>> taunted my husband and neighbor saying he would be up in the stand all
>> night and "hoped" his coyote calls wouldn't wake us up. Then he made a few
>> coyote calls to prove his point. The hunter opined to my neighbor that he
>> didn't think it wise for him to be talking like he did to someone who had
>> weapons, clearly a veiled threat. It was now past legal hunting time (being
>> more than one half hour after sunset)so my husband asked the hunter if he
>> knew what time it was. The hunter either didn't answer or didn't know. My
>> husband walked into the house and called 911 having felt threatened by this
>> man.
>> >
>> > When the male deputy and my husband walked to the rear of our property
>> they were greeted by the hunter shining a light on them and mockingly
>> saying, "Hello ladies." The deputy said, "Durham County Sheriff's Deputy,
>> turn your light off," which the hunter ignored. Upon the second request by
>> the deputy the hunter asked the deputy for identification. The deputy
>> responded, "Don't you see my uniform?" The deputy then informed the hunter
>> that deer hunting season ended one half hour after sunset, it was past that
>> time and this man needed to leave. This hunter had the nerve to ask the
>> deputy to give him a ride to his vehicle which would have meant walking
>> through our property to reach the patrol car. The deputy said he would not
>> give him a ride and waited until the man left the area.
>> >
>> > To say this latest encounter was un-nerving is an understatement. No
>> one should have to put up with this dangerous nonsense. In light of your
>> recent decision, clearly ignorant of the behavior of many hunters, you are
>> putting residents at risk. Have you thought about adjacent property owners
>> not knowing that hunting will occur next to them or that a hunter will know
>> the boundary of the land much less know where 250 from the boundary is or
>> god forbid a child goes into the area and is shot? Do you honestly think
>> hunters will care about these rules should a deer be sighted outside of the
>> legal hunting area?. Law enforcement has enough to do without responding to
>> dangerous situations created by your unanimous decision.
>> >
>> > Citizens should not be on the front line ensuring that hunters obey the
>> rules. I trust none of you live where you've dealt with this type of
>> situation. Again, I am asking you to overturn your bow hunting decision,
>> and failing that, at the very least land owners who allow hunting should
>> clearly mark their property lines identifying the property as hunting land
>> as well as mark the 250 foot no hunting buffer, notify adjacent property
>> owners and/or register their property with the city as hunting land.
>> >
>> > Considering this latest unsettling encounter with a person who holds
>> his right to hunt above the safety of others (and he is not an isolated
>> case), I believe a response from you is warranted. Again, please reconsider
>> your decision. I'd rather take my chances with the deer, at least they
>> don't retaliate, something I don't put past this hunter.
>> >
>> > Sincerely,
>> >
>> > Carol Young
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Durham INC Mailing List
>> list at durham-inc.org
>> http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Durham INC Mailing List
> list at durham-inc.org
> http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
>
>


-- 
*Dorothy Potter Snyder*
*The Art of Language*
*919-237-2931*
www.dorothypotterspanish.com
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