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Latest News & Updates

•4/3/14
The Ithacan offers in-depth coverage of Cornell's trap & bolt controversy
•3/28/14
Syracuse and Binghamton TV news stations cover our breaking story
•3/21/14
BREAKING: Cornell is using barbaric trap & bolt method to kill Ithaca deer
•1/29/14
BREAKING: Bowhunting 151 feet from your home?
•12/5/13
ALERT: Keep crossbows and deer hunters out of Cayuga Heights
•10/23/13
ALERT: Deer-killing advocates expand their crusade county-wide
•9/14/13
ALERT: Deer at risk as Mayor Supron pursues killing again
•6/21/13
Village Attorney Reinforced Mayor Supron's 10% Deception
•6/20/13
BREAKING: Cayuga Heights mayor's deception PROVEN by court-released documents
•11/22/12
Amazing news! And a time for gratitude
•3/5/12
FOIL documents expose mindset of Village's chosen deer-kill contractor
•2/24/12
Mayor Supron to host biased deer-killing forum
•2/13/12
BREAKING: Cayuga Heights dealt another legal blow, killing still on hold
•1/27/12
Letter: Heights officials don't listen, so vote them out
•1/19/12
Village attorney publicly misrepresents history of deer-kill plan
•1/8/12
BREAKING: Deer killing blocked by Preliminary Injunction
•1/2//12
Outpouring of residents call for safety and sanity in Cayuga Heights
•12/20/11
A Tale of Two Laws: Is String More Important Than Safety?
•12/17//11
URGENT: New law will permit shooting in Cayuga Heights neighborhoods
•12/2//11
Cayuga Heights' discriminatory policy covered by Tompkins Weekly
•11/21/11
TURNING POINT: Deer-killing permit issued, new fencing rules approved
•11/13/11
Discriminatory policies in Cayuga Hts challenged by community members
•10/18/11
12 Ithacans bringing deer lawsuit to NY Supreme Court Appellate Division
•10/4/11
FOIL response reveals Cayuga Heights hopes to fast-track killing
•9/16/11
Judge rules: Net & Bolt killing off the table
•8/1/11
Coverage of deer issue biased and unprofessional
•7/6/11
Whitewashing net & bolt slaughter?
•6/7/11
Deer lawsuit is cover story of Tompkins Weekly
•5/29/11
WSTM TV highlights DEC's role in Net & Bolt deer killing plan
•5/25/11
Ithaca Journal and WENY-TV cover Cayuga Heights lawsuit
•5/23/11
BREAKING: Residents sue Cayuga Heights & DEC over deer killing plan
•5/7/11
Censorship in Cayuga Heights: Visuals and signs to be banned at meetings
•4/27/11
Major media coverage of Cayuga Heights deer issue. Watch online!
•4/21/11
BREAKING: National news coverage of Cayuga Heights deer issue Friday
•4/9/11
TV news coverage of sneak vote
•4/6/11
BREAKING: Trustees approve Net & Bolt killing plan in sneak vote!
•3/13/11
Trustees embrace Net & Bolt
•2/25/11
Village employee resigns, speaks out
•2/13/11
Mayor Supron says Net & Bolt is "like a whack of a hammer"
•2/10/11
Documents Released: Community overwhelmingly refutes kill plan
•1/28/11
BREAKTHROUGH: National science experts refute deer-killing rationale
•1/24/11
Internal emails reveal "any method will be graphic and traumatic"
•1/9/11
New year, new hope
•12/8/10
Growing resistance to growing insanity
•12/3/10
WSTM TV exposes Net & Bolt reality, Ann Druyan speaks out
•12/2/10
Letter: "Net-and-bolt killing is barbaric and illegal"
•12/1/10
Tompkins Weekly breaks story about Net & Bolt
•11/22/10
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Approaching the point of no return

•11/7/10
Breaking News: Hidden kill option takes backyard barbarism to new heights
•10/12/10
$275,000 Mystery in Cayuga Heights
•9/12/10
CNN's Headline News covers Cayuga Heights' deer-killing plan
•5/27/10
Demonizing Dissent in Cayuga Heights?
•5/19/10
Cayuga Heights puts politics before public safety
•1/14/10
Open letter from Michigan deer committee member
•1/12/10
Lyme disease myth dispelled
•11/5/09
Muffling gun shots, disposing of heads and hooves (new video of trustees)

Archived news


Petition: Tell Cornell to Stop Trapping Deer and Shooting Metal Rods Into Their Brains
Cornell trapping deeerRead and sign the petition here

* * * * * * * BREAKING * * * * * * *
CayugaDeer.org has confirmed that Cornell is now using the barbaric trap & bolt method to kill deer in the Ithaca community. Read our Breaking Story
CNY Central reports | WBNG-TV reports | The Ithacan reports
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

     
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
Court Victory Uncovers Evidence
Cayuga Heights Government Deceived Public

Documents released by a judge's order prove that Mayor Kate Supron, who recently renewed her commitment to pursue the mass-slaughter of deer, has been concealing the low level of support from residents for a backyard shooting program.
Get the Full Story Here
 
OPEN LETTER TO
TOMPKINS COUNTY RESIDENTS

Deer-killing advocates expand crusade in pursuit of county-wide mass-slaughter of deer
Closed-door meetings with legislators, one-sided panels designed to manipulate public perception, even the scientifically debunked lyme disease argument is getting dusted off to scare people into going along.
Get the Full Story Here
 

Call Mayor Kate Supron (607) 257-1238

Tell Mayor Supron and the Cayuga Heights Trustees to abandon their unsafe, reckless, ill-conceived plan to bait and shoot deer in village backyards. We can address conflicts with deer in ways that won't put the community at risk and won't turn neighbor against neighbor.

Check out the safe, proven,inexpensive and effective alternatives to killing

 
 

White Buffalo shooter

Cayuga Heights passes new law permitting shooting in resident backyards

In 2012, despite an outpouring of protest, the Village trustees passed Local Law J, making it legal for deer-killing contractor White Buffalo (employee pictured above) to perform mass-shooting of wildlife in family neighborhoods. Now, there is only one thing that can stand in the way of the Cayuga Heights government bringing gunmen into the community to discharge deadly weapons at undisclosed locations and times: The refusal of individual property owners to allow the killing of deer on their land or near their homes.

What you can do

 

 Shot For A Tulip
Shot For A Tulip

Cayuga Heights has been said to have the most Ph.D’s per capita of any municipality in America. Yet today, its trustees are on the verge of approving an expensive, dangerous, and frankly bizarre plan that if put into effect, is certain to put a serious dent in our community’s well-deserved reputation for sensible, compassionate, and forward-thinking public policy.

As most people in Ithaca know, there has been a controversy around the fate of the deer in Cayuga Heights, whose appetite for tulips, heirloom tomatoes, and ornamental shrubbery has, in the minds of the current mayor and trustees, created a situation so dire and unacceptable, that action of the most extreme sort is not only justified, but urgently required.

According to the plan now being considered, every single deer in the village is slated to be violated or killed. The first phase involves capturing 20-60 female deer, surgically sterilizing them, then puncturing their ears with numbered tags and encumbering their necks with radio collars. These are the “lucky” individuals. The intended fate of every other deer in Cayuga Heights, including pregnant does and fawns, is to be shot dead at 8 to 10 undisclosed bait sites in our neighborhood backyards. This annual massacre, to become a part of our local culture, will be carried out by out-of-town contractors who earn their living exterminating wildlife.

The ethical grotesquery of this plan appears to be lost on those who conceived it, who seem to be oblivious to the mental and emotional torture that will be experienced by the few deer chosen to survive, not to mention the many people who care about these gentle animals. Year after year, deer in and around Cayuga Heights will be lured by piles of corn into the kill zone, and those marked for survival will watch as their herd mates are brutally killed right in front of them. Were such a sadistic policy to be carried out against dogs or cats, or horses, an outraged crowd of us would spontaneously rise up to stop it. But the deer, ironically, because they live free of direct human control and are no individual’s private property, are somehow seen as unworthy of moral consideration.

Do we really want to live in a society where bureaucrats meet behind closed doors to arbitrarily decide how many of each species are allowed to live, then send technicians out to mark the few chosen to survive as ornamental reminders of a bygone era, doomed to move among us as freaks festooned with the trappings of their utter domination by humans? Do we want to cover the eyes and ears of our children as unsuspecting animals are methodically executed in our neighbors’ backyards?

Living amongst us are many people who, through wise plant choices, and skillful use of fencing and deer repellents, enjoy beautiful gardens without causing harm to anyone. Mass killing and extreme control of our indigenous wildlife is neither necessary, nor ethical, nor safe. And if it is scientific at all, it represents science at its most twisted.

Everything about this plan is emblematic of the mindset that is destroying our planet, and at odds with what we stand for as a community. Because the trustees of Cayuga Heights have rejected proven and practical non-violent approaches to reducing deer-human conflict, because they refuse against all reason to allow residents to erect fences high enough to safeguard their plantings, should the rest of us just sit back and do nothing? Should we accept armed men firing deadly weapons in our neighborhoods, to protect tulips? Or is it possible, with all the brilliant, creative and compassionate people living in this community, that we can come up with a more sensible approach? I think we can.


by James LaVeck an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a 20-year resident of Ithaca, NY. He is one of the co-founders of CayugaDeer.org, Ithacans for Safe, Rational and Ethical Solutions to Deer Human Conflict. This opinion piece was originally published in the Ithaca Times on June 24, 2009

Protesters

Understand why bringing snipers into our neighborhoods to kill deer is unsafe, unethical, unrealistic and unnecessary.

Since the Fall of 2008, a group of citizens residing in Cayuga Heights and surrounding neighborhoods has been attending meetings, reviewing scientific research, evaluating the validity of claims being made by those who advocate a deer-killing program, and investigating what’s happening in other communities facing this issue. We have also sought to understand the true sources of deer-human conflicts and how they might most effectively be reduced.

In all our study, one clear truth has emerged: Our community will be divided by any solution that doesn’t respect both the needs of gardeners and the values of people opposed to a deer killing program.

Safer roadways are good. Vibrant gardens are good. Respecting and protecting animals is good. Treating these things as mutually exclusive will only result in pitting well-meaning people against one another. Our community can do better.

Some gardeners now feel their interests will have been abandoned if a deer killing plan is not implemented. Meanwhile, those who care about the fate of the deer, and those opposed to bringing guns and violence into our community, will feel violated by an annual bait-and-shoot program.

The right approach for our community should not leave some residents feeling ignored, and others violated. It should provide direct assistance to those experiencing the greatest conflict with deer, while preserving the peaceful, non-violent culture our community is known for. The right approach should be pragmatic, ethical and economically sustainable. It should bring people together, not tear neighborhoods apart.

Learn more

Fawn



   What You Can Do
 
 

A positive resolution of this issue depends on individual people getting involved and taking action.

1. Contribute to the Deer Legal Fund
Several times in the last few years, legal intervention has prevented the mass slaughter of deer in our community. It has also served to rein in abuses of power by Cayuga Heights officials, who have exhibited a consistent pattern of suppressing information and frustrating citizen participation in the public policy debate. Your contributions will help us continue this important work, which not only makes a difference locally but also inspires and informs legal initiatives to prevent mass slaughter of wildlife in other communities.

Checks should be made out to " Deer Legal Fund" and mailed to Deer Legal Fund, c/o CayugaDeer.org, PO Box 373, Ithaca, NY 14851. Thank you for your crucial support!

2. Contact the Decisionmakers
Tell them why you think their deer-killing plan is unsafe, unethical, unrealistic, and unnecessary. Each of the individuals below can be reached by US mail at 836 Hanshaw Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850 and by phone at (607) 257-1238. You do not have to be a Cayuga Heights resident to let your voice be heard. This decision affects the entire Ithaca community and sets a dangerous precedent for other communities around North America!

To send an email to all of the decisionmakers at once, click here.
  • Mayor Kate Supron: ksupron@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Deputy Mayor Liz Karns: ekarns@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Trustee Chris Crooker: ccrooker@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Trustee Stephen Hamilton: shamilton@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Trustee Diana Riesman: driesman@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Trustee Richard Robinson: rrobinson@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Trustee Peter Salton: psalton@cayuga-heights.ny.us
  • Police Chief James Steinmetz: jsteinmetz@cayuga-heights.ny.us
Write an email now!

3. Attend Meetings
The Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees meets the second Monday of every month. Their meetings are open to the public, and time is set aside during each meeting for the public to give comments. Residents from the Ithaca area are encouraged to attend and speak out against the proposed bait-and-shoot deer-killing plan, which will bring snipers and violence into our peaceful community.

Next monthly meeting of the Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees

Monday, April 14 at 7 PM
Privilege of the Floor normally happens during the first half hour of the meeting. A two-minute time limit on comments is strictly enforced.
Marcham Hall, 836 Hanshaw Rd., Ithaca
Map/Directions



4. Write Letters to the Editor

• The Ithaca Journal
   Send to: Editor, Ithaca Journal, 123 W. State St, Ithaca, NY 14850 or submit by email
• Tompkins Weekly
   Send to: Editor, Tompkins Weekly, PO Box 6404, Ithaca, NY 14851 or submit by email
• The Ithaca Times
   Send to: Editor, Ithaca Times,109 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14850 or submit by email



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6. Help educate others
Get your friends, neighbors and colleagues involved in the public dialogue about this important issue. Begin by letting them know about this web resource. Just click on the button below:

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This web site is published by CayugaDeer.org - Ithacans for Safe, Ethical, and Rational Approaches to Reducing Deer-Human Conflict. We are a group of concerned citizens from Ithaca neighborhoods, including Cayuga Heights. If you would like to join our educational outreach effort and be informed of opportunities where your input can make a difference, contact us.