That’s a bit harsh. I think they are beautiful animals, but without natural predators or managed culling they overrun areas and, as you say, end up mangy and emaciated.
Right, because hunting wild animals is so much more inhumane than large-scale animal farms. They don’t realize regardless of the approach, the animal has to be killed before we eat it?
Which was exactly my point.
Our backyard is on the historic trail between sleeping and eating areas. This has a major impact on what we can grow. The local herds have grown so large that the sleeping areas now include our backyard. This has essentially removed our yard from use due to waste and damage. That gives me a very practical and admittedly harsh perspective on the animals. For reasons I support I can’t get a permit to shoot them.
We refer to our tulips as deer lollipops. Our hosta is deer salad. Fortunately the herb garden is too aromatic . . .the deer don’t bother with it. They also leave our large bed of iris alone again, maybe too fragrant.
Hmmmmm… that got interesting. For the record, I’m not for or against deer, but an adult deer can do a LOT of damage, at least to your car.
“I’d never been spoken to by someone carrying a gun.”
I could tell some stories!* And I’m still here, so that’s the good news.
The deer discussion has me circling back to the county for permits. I have a tree with a limb at a good height, a block and tackle, and an air compressor for skinning. A freezer full of venison would be good news indeed.
I never knew that rule, but once an adult deer bounded out of the woods in front of my car. I didn’t hit her, and said, “Good riddance,” but then the baby deer came, and I couldn’t avoid it. I had to call the wildlife ranger and go back with him and show him where it happened. He complimented me for calling him, telling me that most people don’t bother to call if there is no damage to their car. Since that time the town authorities have been clearing the shrubbery for a good 2-3 meters from the edge of the road, so the deer don’t feel so hidden anymore when they want to cross. I haven’t seen one since.
You obviously didn’t grow up in the USA 
I grew up in Philadelphia. We’d often talk to/interact with the police (no, we weren’t problem children; I grew up in a nice neighborhood where the cops were friendly with the kids). And I had lots of friends with dads on the force, so speaking to folks with guns on their hips wasn’t unusual.
As a young adult a few friends joined the force and a few more just carried for whatever reason. I’ve attended more than a few parties where the host requested guns be emptied of ammo and dropped in a basket by the door to avoid the dangerous combination of alcohol and firearms. I guess it worked . . . I’m over 50 and have yet to be shot or even know anyone who was shot.
Venison, whether from wild or farm raised deer, is readily available in the UK, even in supermarkets. Supermarket meat is usually from farmed animals - it means a consistent quality as they are shot at a given age (shooting is the usual method of killing even for farmed animals). The farmers market usually has wild venison but the age can be random, so toughness can be an issue. No problem, of course, if it’s going into a long cooked dish. Of course, the definition of “wild” is a moot point. Whilst they are free to roam over wide areas, they are managed stock on someone’s land.
My neighbor was FBI when I was a kid and he came home with his trusty .38 on his hip. We called him Big Ed and he had a glass gun cabinet in the living room with all types of weapons protected by several sticks of dynamite hooked to a timer. Nobody knew if they were active but if anyone was going to have live dynamite in the house it was Big Ed.
I had a Houston Police officer in the apartment about a month ago so I could report an issue and I retired last year from a big box retailer and we had Police in all the time, all certainly armed and I’m sure they had the heavy artillery in their cars.
I felt safer with them around.
We were driving up Grouse Mountain (Vancouver, BC), minding our own business, when a small deer literally broadsided us from our right. Never saw it coming. It bounced back into the roadside woods and was nowhere to be found when we stopped to search. We assumed it was ambulatory enough to run away.and hoped it would be OK.
I was sitting at a traffic light not long ago and what I consider to be a homeless person high on something staggered across traffic and broadsided my car on the right side and crossed a busy roadway.
I assumed she was okay but called the Police and reported it.
At a famous honky tonk’s entryway, a sign on the admission counter (that a bouncer also manned) read: “Check all knives and guns”.
Gilley’s in Houston??
It’s actually Pasadena (not the little old lady version) ?
I knew that and I’ve lived here all my life. My mistake.
Then that’s where we saw it. Thanks.
Urban Cowboy ~ Stand By Me ~ John Travolta & Debra Winger. Who cares if the place was in Pasadena instead of Houston. Hard to believe he could stay up that late drinking/still go to work the next day (doesn’t say much for the oil business in Houston back then) AND afford to spend that much money every night at a place like Gilley’s. Drinks/ beer aren’t cheap at those type of places.
But still. a great movie.
That was boomtown Houston and the money flowed like wine, I suspect lots of coffee in the morning and hair of the dog with 3 or 4 Ninfaritas for the 2 hour lunch. Back then those things would flatten you. I’m surprised any work got done in downtown Houston at all.
I edited my post to include the oil business in Houston where Bud worked. You’re right. They could have cared less back then.
I think the morning recovery was aided by illegal substances for some.
