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By Ann Barton July 18. 2015 12:01AM Guest Opinion: City must address deer issue The deer in Ashland can be more dangerous than we think! Yes they are cute and remind us of Bambi and somehow it shakes us up to think that these docile mythological-like animals will attack us. They do and will! Listen up, city officials! Many citizens want you to take this issue more seriously than you have. Something needs to be done about these overpopulated, diseased and aggressive deer. I hope it doesn’t take a tragedy to wake you up and put aside the politics of the season to protect the citizens of this town. My daughter and I were walking the dog up Morton Street, and a deer attacked us. It reared up and missed the back of my head with its hooves by an inch. It circled around and stalked us again. My daughter picked up a trash can as a shield. We were terrified. I posted my story on Ashland Peeps. More than 25 Ashlanders told of being chased and attacked. Three were corned in their backyards, two were pummeled. One went to the ER. One woman was surrounded by four to five deer, another woman ran after a deer who was chasing two small boys. Dogs have been attacked and killed. One woman was followed by a pack of deer. Ann Seltzer at City Hall told me they held a “Living with Wildlife Summit” and to read their pamphlet. Is this all that came out of their summit? Ann said the city has no power to do anything about the problem and it’s the jurisdiction of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Biologists there said Ashland can issue hunting licenses. Why not work with ODFW to come up with a creative solution? They said: June-July is fawn season, when does are protective and aggressive. Fall is rutting season when the bucks can be dangerous. In town, dogs are their biggest predators. These are city deer who have lived here for generations with people feeding them (DON'T!). They are partially domesticated. We don’t hunt them so they have lost their fear of us. They are overpopulated and used to the delicious treats we grow in our gardens, which is not their natural diet. They are different than “wild” deer and they have more diseases and few predators. Most attacks against people come when we walk medium to small dogs, but some happen without dogs. Carry a walking stick and an airhorn, he said. Within the past 10 years deer have become more aggressive. They attack humans many more times a year than bears and cougars. Bears kill one person a year and Ccougars kill less than one person a year in the U.S. I read the city notice on Gresham Street. It says protect yourself, throw rocks and sticks, be aggressive and back up quickly. It says “in the unlikely event you are attacked” — but in reality it’s very likely! The city needs an education campaign, a plan to decrease the deer population, a way to relocate aggressive deer, as they do with bears and cougars. Other cities practice culling — issuing licenses, usually for bow hunting. Some cities hire professionals to do this, then give meat to homeless shelters. The town of Hastings, N.Y. is using contraception. Another idea is to relocate aggressive deer. I think we need to call our city to action. This is a public safety issue. It’s time they make this a priority. Please join us in the public comment period at the start of the next City Council meeting, Tuesday, July 21. It’s at 7 p.m., but come early and sign the comment sheet. It’s at the Civic Center on East Main Street. Ann Barton lives in Ashland. http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20150718/OPINION/150719860 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->