What about the predators?
I read the Valley News article, “ ‘We have more deer than our forests can support’: Norwich walk highlights browse damage.” There is another part of this story that deserves much more attention: What happened to the predators that naturally help keep deer populations in balance?
Vermont and New Hampshire have a year-round open season on killing coyotes, in part because they might eat a fawn. We inhumanely trap coyotes and other predators. We have reduced the numbers of animals that naturally prey on deer and then we act surprised when deer populations become too high in some areas.
Why aren’t our wildlife state agencies addressing the continued persecution and killing of the predators that naturally help keep deer populations in check? A good place to start would be closing the year-round open season on coyotes.
Look at what happened when wolves were brought back to Yellowstone. The wolves’ presence changed where elk went and how they behaved, reducing browsing in some areas and allowing vegetation to recover. Predators can affect an entire ecosystem in ways that go far beyond the animals they directly kill.
Nature evolved with predators for a reason. They are an essential part of the system that keeps wildlife populations and ecosystems in balance.
Nature knows how to maintain its own balance far better than humans do. Stop killing predators and get out of the way. Let nature do its job.