At the February 17, 2009, Board of Trustees meeting in Cayuga Heights, 9 citizens spoke out against a bait and shoot program. Here are some of their statements that were read and submitted for the record:

Scott Teel: The deer are not purposely targeting your plants and you. They need food, they find food, they eat what they find. Your plants are just plants to them, not YOUR plants. Don't be angry with a creature that eats food you put out. It's like sending you or I to a buffet, handing us a plate, and saying, "go ahead," and then getting angry with us for eating. The deer aren't being malicious, they don't hate you; they're hungry. Understand this and you won't hate them either. There are better, less violent ways to deal with them...

I myself walk my dog late at night, sometimes in the middle of the night, to clear my head or get out to walk off a problem. What if a sharpshooter accidentally shoots me? Can you guarantee 100% that no dog or person will ever be harmed by one of these shooters? 100%? If not, your choice should be easy...

What are the local gun ordinances for this neighborhood? I'm not willing to change them to eliminate a few deer, personally. Is it sporting to put food down for an animal and then kill it? What happened to Ithaca's famous open-minded, welcoming, fair and even-handed attitude? ...

I love this community, it's a wonderful place to live. The deer are PART of MY community. I love the deer. I love to see them wander around, I love to see the fawns playing in the spring, running around like puppies. I think they're great. They're a wonderful part of this area. I rent a house now, but will be buying eventually. If this bait and kill program is approved, I won't be able to buy a home here in Cayuga Heights. It will be too much of a turnoff, too horrible of a thing for me to live near. I'll look elsewhere, perhaps not in Ithaca at all. That's how strongly I feel against this. I would move from an area where the residents felt this program was necessary. I don't want my taxes to go toward something like this when I know there are alternatives. I'm one of the most open-minded people you can meet, I always teeter back and forth toward both sides of any arguments that have good merits. I've seen the arguments pro and con for this deer-killing program and am not teetering at all on this one.  

So I ask my friends on the Board to vote against this program. The deer are a part of nature, and we often forget that we are as well. Nature does what it does. Nature can be a nuisance. Sometimes nature causes problems. But just because something is a problem doesn't mean we should start killing it... just because we can and it's easy. That will create new problems. Let's deal with this issue in a more compassionate way, which we -- as humans -- are capable of doing as well.

Read complete written statement

Jane Staller: (statement read by Eric Huang) I am a long-time resident of Ithaca, N.Y. I am concerned about the proposed bait-and-shoot culling of deer in Cayuga Heights, which is a part of the Ithaca community and a place where I spend a good part of my life, for my job, social life, as well as for shopping and just traveling through.

It seems to me that residents of Cayuga Heights and those who travel through and spend time in Cayuga Heights should be informed when deadly weapons are going to be used in the neighborhoods where they reside or spend time. I certainly feel it is my right to know this.

I also have concerns about the efficacy of the culling process, which I understand involves some 10 years of these "secret shootings". This does not sit well with me, and I imagine there are many people, both residents and others who don't reside within the boundaries of Cayuga Heights, who agree with me.

Nancy Jacoby: I am a resident of Ithaca. I spend frequent time in Cayuga Heights visiting friends and volunteering with senior citizens. I find that my visits to the Heights are peaceful and enjoyable, owing to its natural beauty, its friendliness for pedestrians, and the abundance of creatures living side by side with human beings.

I'm opposed to a bait and shoot of the deer in this area. Even if carried out under the cover of darkness, this violent activity will be painful for the animals who are shot, those who will be injured, and those who will watch their young, and the other members of their herd, fall and bleed and die.

Finding peace in this world will begin not through grand orchestrations, but through the conglomeration of many small acts of kindness, empathy and compassion, and a willingness to commit ourselves to non-violent resolutions to all conflicts. The simplest of these are our dealings with animals, who represent no political ideology, but merely a desire to coexist in the environment to which we are all equally entitled, humans and animals alike. I encourage the trustees to choose from non-lethal solutions to manage deer in Cayuga Heights.

Sherene Baugher: I've been to a number of the deer meetings, and I just want to say that there's been a lot of misinformation, or misleading information, or outright factually incorrect information presented by the deer committee. For example -- and it was in the press, too -- statements by the mayor and by the committee that we have a noticeable decrease in birds within the village because of the deer. When I checked with Cornell, when I checked with Audubon, there's no statistics that back up the mayor's statements.
 
The mayor has also stated in the press about the increasing dramatic rise in lyme disease, and that this is a great threat, why we need to cull and kill the deer. Checking with the health department, there is an increase all over the state in the numbers of lyme disease because the state has new methods for reporting. And they said it's misleading to use these new statistics as scare tactics with the public.

Jenny Stein: I was born in Ithaca, so like the deer, I am native to this area. I care about what happens in my community, even though an invisible border separates the residents who live in Cayuga Heights from the rest of us who consider Ithaca our home. I have attended all but one of the publicly held deer committee meetings, and there are many questions yet to be answered. Here are just a few:

- How is it determined that there are currently too many deer in the village, when the last count was conducted three years ago?

- If a deer killing program is implemented, how will its success be measured, especially if you don't know how many deer you started with, making it impossible to prove the population was reduced?

- There's an assumption that killing deer on one end of the village will help resolve people's conflicts with deer on the other end of the village. Why has there been no serious consideration given to solving the actual conflicts people are having? After all, isn't it the conflicts that give people the perception there are too many deer?

- I have seen no serious consideration given to compensatory rebound effect, a scientifically documented phenomenon where deer have more twins and reproduce at a younger age when there is a sudden drop in their population. How will it be determined that the killing is actually reducing the population size, and not merely stimulating higher reproduction rates, leading to even more deer the following year?

Read the complete list of unanswered questions

I am concerned that an annual bait and shoot deer killing program in Cayuga Heights will do permanent damage to the non-violent culture of the Ithaca community I so love, as well as put many people and their companion animals at risk -- and not just those who voted for you. A lot of us who didn't will have to endure the negative consequences of your decisions.

Gabrielle Vehar: I would like to tell the story of the bait and shoot approach as it has transpired in Amherst, NY, where I was raised and lived during the height of the bait and shoot controversy -- a controversy that lives on even to this day. Yes, Amherst is still struggling to come to a resolution as it looks back on more than ten years of mistakes. Some of these mistakes include taxpayer-funded studies that cost at least $100,000 and whose recommendations of non-lethal methods were then ignored. Another is the terrible fighting that the bait and shoot controversy caused between local legislators and townspeople, fighting that still goes on to this day.

Additionally, there were promises made by the Amherst Town Board to make efforts toward non-lethal solutions, only to have these promises reneged on, causing members of the Deer Management Committee to actually resign in disgust, as Amherst turned back once more to bait and shoot. Yet another is the grave danger of never knowing when or where the next bullet from a sharpshooter's gun might strike, as it did once already, just over the heads of an East Amherst father and son sitting in their home.  

And finally, the sheer futility of a town government bent on using bait and shoot, only to see its deer-vehicle collision numbers rise again, a full five years after initiating the program. All this, while well-tested and utilized non-lethal methods that are nationally recommended sit gathering dust in the corner.

I will be submitting a more in-depth report detailing the story of Amherst bait and shoot, referenced with foot notes, but I would like to leave you with this thought: Five years after the bait and shoot program was initiated, with more than one thousand deer killed, years of meetings, vast sums of money spent, and a near brush with a tragic accident, the town government of Amherst still has a bitterly divided community, still has failed to develop a successful strategy for reducing deer-vehicle collisions, and still has failed to implement cost-effective non-lethal methods with a proven track record of success.

Will we sit idly by while the Cayuga Heights' trustees make the same mistakes?  I sincerely hope not. Read the report about Amherst

Mary Tabacchi: Many of us pay taxes here to live in a quiet, safe, friendly environment. I want to impress upon the trustees once more that baiting and culling is an extremely cruel concept for a community to condone. A number of us feel this approach is barbaric... Brutally killing a group of deer while they are feeding suggests we have lost our way as peace loving, responsible guardians of our community.

I have several pictures here taken after a deer culling near Rochester Hills Michigan... I would like my assembled colleagues to look at these pictures if they can. These pictures do not show dead animals but they show where the deer were baited with corn. They show blood on a tree from the deer and they show a bloody trail of a deer trying to escape. Deer do not necessarily die instantly as can be shown by these pictures. Believe me - these pictures are mild compared to the carnage that will occur in our own community. Read complete written statement

Photos of the aftermath of a bait-and-shoot deer killing operation in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Photos were taken January 21, 2009. by Italia Millan.    (click an image to enlarge it)

Karen Kaufmann: I have lived in the Village since 1990... I urge the Board to give the issue of deer management all necessary scrutiny, consistent with the Board's own legal obligations and with the legal constraints and costs entailed in management decisions, especially those involving the use of lethal means. In particular...

- The need for, and content and cost of, an environmental impact assessment before taking any action that affects Village wildlife...
- The need for, and cost of, quantification and public input ...
- The need for, and legal and lifestyle costs entailed in, amendment of the Village firearms ordinance to permit the use of firearms for culling.
- The need for, and legal costs entailed in, competitive bidding for any contract for culling services...
- The need for, and costs entailed in, obtaining waivers to the 500-foot rule...
- The need for compliance with other provisions of state firearms and hunting laws...
- The need for, and costs entailed in, supervision of any contracted-for culling service, including the clearing, marking and patrolling of tracts where contract culling is occurring and other assurances of safety in any use of firearms on Village premises...
- The need for, and costs, of liability insurance to protect the Village against potential legal liability for accident or injury arising in the course of a deer-kill operation... 
- The need for quantification and documentation demonstrating a factual basis for, and a rational relationship between, the problems addressed and the solutions adopted, to meet any challenge of "arbitrary and capricious" conduct.

The Board's attention to these legal obligations and constraints is all the more critical in light of DRAC's disregard of the basic process recommendations of the wildlife professionals it has consulted, including DEC and Cornell wildlife expert Paul Curtis, as well as the lessons of the Village's past experience with this issue -- that is, that any decision regarding deer management be the product of a process that seeks to build consensus among stakeholders, and that any management process begin, not (as in DRAC's case) with a proposed remedy, but with a fact-based assessment of the problems to be addressed and the specific goals to be achieved.

I have seen this Board give nickel-and-dime scrutiny to routine operating expenditures, such as hourly legal fees. I trust that it will give the same degree of scrutiny to the issue of deer remediation, for which it has already set aside a blanket $50,000 this year and for which, by DRAC's own accounting of duration, it could expect to expend upwards of $500,000 over the next ten years.  I urge the Board, as it exercises its decision-making powers, to assure Village residents that any expenditure from the public fisc on the issue of deer remediation will, at the least, address demonstrable and documented community needs in a rational and demonstrably-effective manner.  Even leaving aside the ethical questions involved in the systematic slaughter of deer, I do not believe a bait-and-shoot culling operation meets this test.

Read complete written statement with more detail about legal concerns and examples of case law.

James LaVeck: I am an Ithaca-area resident and one of the spokespeople for Cayugadeer.org... First, in response to the statements made on the new Deer Committee web site that "CayugaDeer.org have been unwilling to make a presentation or to participate in dialogue with the committee," I would like to present to each member of the village government as well as each member of the DRAC the complete text of CayugaDeer.org's website, which has been online and discussed in the local media since early December. Along with these 47 pages of footnoted information, I am also presenting a DVD of video clips from the CayugaDeer.org web site.

I am also here to file a freedom of information request for numerous documents that I believe our community has not only a legal right, but also a moral right to have access to. Some of these documents pertain to: the formation of the deer committee, legal opinions that have been rendered by the village attorney, including those pertaining to Mayor Gilmore's comment at the November 20, 2008 DRAC meeting, "We were told by village counsel early on, Chief Boyce -- were we not? -- that actually if we frame this around the safety issue we don't even need the public's vote" ...
(see FOIL request)

As many of you may know, our newly elected president has made the commitment to make his administration the most open and transparent in history. In turn, I hope that the Village of Cayuga Heights will be inspired to join President Obama's effort to revitalize the integrity of our democracy. Complete written statement

Lisa Duggan: I would like to bring up the issue of lead contamination caused by the non-ricocheting bullets set to be used in this proposed program. As stated by Bismarck North Dakota's Dr. Camatzer, an avid big game hunter himself, when the bullet hits the deer, it sends little bits of shrapnel-type lead that are almost liquid at that point because of the speed the bullet is going. He states that the impact is enough to scatter the deadly toxin through the entire animal. After putting 100 pounds of venison from dozens of different sources into a CT Scan, he found 60% to have high levels of lead. (read source article)

North Dakota, Minnesota and states all over the mid-west have pulled thousands of pounds of venison off of the shelves of pantries given this discovery... Dr Comatzer notes that "It's been shown that children under five that ingest even a small amount of lead will have permanent brain damage". He states that lead is enough to cause all sorts of disorders, even death and is not meant to go into our bodies, not even in miniscule amounts.

I see in the Ithaca Journal that you still tout donating meat as a charitable service, despite not having addressed at all the facts brought forth about toxic pesticides and Chronic Wasting Disease that's been alleged that our deer may have and is a reason to promote the bait and shoot program.

I ask if you or anyone in this room would even consider feeding your own children or families meat that could possibly be infected with Chronic Wasting Disease, or most certainly contaminated with toxic pesticides not meant for human consumption, that is not USDA inspected and that is contaminated with lead that is a known toxin that can cause brain damage and death?  Is that what you would serve for dinner to your loved ones? Complete written statement

Jenny Stein: While there are a few local governments that comprise Ithaca as we know it, we all work, drive, shop and socialize across these municipal boundaries, never giving it a second thought. Therefore, I am disheartened to witness a persistent lack of concern or interest in how an annual bait and shoot program will affect anyone other than residents of Cayuga Heights -- a number of whom have already spoken out against it. Should the proposed program be adopted, mass slaughter and the discharge of guns in our community will not be a one-time event, but an annual tradition, to be carried out for at least 10 years, according to the chair of the deer committee, and possibly even longer. In other words, it will become part of our community culture.

Children naturally look to the adults around them as they undergo moral development, and I'm deeply concerned that a publicly-sanctioned yearly massacre of human-habituated animals -- most of whom live in family groups in people's backyards -- will send a dangerous message of condoned violence. Given that the chair of the deer committee, who is one of the most vocal advocates of a deer killing program, is also co-president of the PTA, only underscores this concern.

Many non-violent alternatives have been put forward to help solve our community's conflict with deer -- alternatives which have a proven track record of success. Many of these alternatives could be partially offset by state or private funds, instead of wasting Cayuga Heights tax dollars on a risky and expensive deer killing program. I have yet to see serious consideration given to any of these alternative options. This seems a disservice to your constituents and those in the larger Ithaca community.

Read complete written statement

Nancy Green: Given that there are non-violent alternatives and things like changing the fencing law, and other alternatives that have been discussed, what would be the down side of trying those things for a year and seeing if they did make a change? And that way you would have tried it, and you would have made some of us at least happy to have tried a non-violent solution.

I've lived in this community now for 12 years, and the deer are a part of my life, and I would miss them if something happened to them. I have deer in my back yard that have numbers in their ears, so they now have names. So, you know, they are -- to me, they're like pets. And I wouldn't want my pet shot.

Karen Kaufmann (Cayuga Heights resident):
I want to register my moral opposition to the bait-and-shoot killing of deer in the village. But beyond that, what I want to say tonight is to to register my strong opposition to any rush to judgment on this controversial issue. I think there's been talk at the deer committee meetings about having a decision or a recommendation ready by February or March. And I just want to urge the board and the deer committee to slow it down, to really put the time and care into this decision, that will make sure that any analysis of the problem and the solutions is based on facts and not presumptions, that there's really full opportunity for public input based on accurate information and on reliable survey tools, and that a full range of possible solutions is considered...

And I just want to say that I really believe that the lack of integrity and transparency in public decision making is a greater threat to our common good in the village than any danger presently posed by the deer. I just encourage the board and the committee to put time and care into their actions.

Charlene Temple (Cayuga Heights resident):
I agree, I completely oppose the culling method suggested, that I've read about. My two questions are, how many car accidents are due to specific collision with deer, comparing year 2007 to 2008? And the second question is, how many cases of neighborhood-specific lyme disease have occurred due to interaction with deer ticks? Note: the Mayor referred these questions to Kate Supron, chair of the Deer Remediation Advisory Committee, who declined to answer in this forum and instead encouraged people to attend the upcoming deer committee meeting, three days later.

Mary Tabacchi, speaking for herself and her husband, Guy Tabacchi (Cayuga Heights residents):
I feel uncomfortable with the recommendations of the deer committee... I'm worried about safety, but more, I'm worried about baiting and slaughtering innocent animals. There's really no method of killing deer that's going to guarantee that they die painlessly... I worry about wounded deer running
around the neighborhood, I worry about blood, guts, etcetera. I'm not comfortable with that, it's violence...

If we're worried about ticks, I don't know what we're going to do about the opossums, the raccoons, the squirrels, you know, everything else that carries ticks, so that's another thing I guess we'll have to worry about -- I'm not sure the deer carry all the ticks. So, in summary, I'm very uncomfortable -- we are very uncomfortable -- with your proposal, as members of this village. And we have lived here since 1976, 77. So, we feel very, very concerned that this is a peaceful, kind, caring neighborhood.

Sandra Stein, reading a letter from Catherine Stein (Cayuga Heights resident):
I am a resident of Cayuga Heights unable to attend today's meeting, but I would like to submit the following personal statement:

I am appalled by the proposed bait and shoot deer killing program in Cayuga Heights. I grew up in
Ithaca, and after living abroad for many years I purchased a home in Cayuga Heights in September and am in the process of moving back to Ithaca with my family. During the first weeks after taking over my house, I spent a lot of time in the garden, weeding, cleaning and getting ready for the winter. I was deeply moved by the graceful deer who calmly walked in and out of our
yard...

It is true that some of our garden has suffered at the mouths of these beautiful animals, but I consider their presence one small way we can connect with the natural world that we are increasingly losing touch with. The deer are indigenous to this land, and they are part of our community...

In an ever more violent world, I am trying to raise my young children to respect all living beings, and to reject killing as a means of solving problems. A systematic slaughter of deer in our
neighborhood would undermine the values our family holds close, and as I believe many other Ithaca residents do also. There are practical, proven, non-violent ways to address each of the issues raised by the people who are experiencing conflict with the deer -- ways that do not involve a planned and methodical program of luring and massacring innocent animals...

I hope my neighbors and the Ithaca community will join me in opposition to this bait and shoot deer killing program. Let's work together to find a better, more peaceful approach.

Hazel Brampton (Ithaca resident):
I've lived on Christopher Circle since 1961. We have our own herd of deer who's lived in that area with us for many years. We see them every season of the year, and they wander through our yards and eat our flowers and our hostas, and we get mad at them, and we love them at the same
time -- most of us. We also have skunks, raccoons, woodchucks and squirrels that give us trouble. And I think that we who live in the suburbs need to live and let live. They were here before we were. And I'm really pro-life, for both people and animals.

Sherene Baugher (Ithaca resident):

I'm the Director of Archaeology at Cornell University, and I live exactly a block and a half from here, so I'm right outside the village, but like some of the people here who live right outside, our local deer may be your deer too. And I want to register opposition to the slaughtering of deer. I also think that, as one of the speakers said, this should not be rushed into. I'm concerned about a lot of the statistics that are being given. For example, as an archaeologist, and my specialty is New York State, I'm working outdoors in the woods, so I know a lot about ticks and the amount of Lyme disease throughout this state, and we are one of the least likely places to get Lyme disease in the whole state...

The other thing, because I'm also affiliated with Cornell's Landscape Architecture Department.... there's a way to live in harmony and have beautiful ornamental gardens. The Cornell Plantations and [the chair of the landscape architecture department] have created a list of beautiful ornamental trees and shrubs that people can use. [The list is available at the Plantations] And I think, as much as people give all these reasons, one of the big underlying issues is that people don't like the deer eating their tulips, and their shrubs, their yews, whatever. And I think the issue is you can have the beautiful gardens, but it can also be deer friendly...

And my last point is I think the village is moving on a very, very slippery slope. Today it's the deer because they're eating the flowers, they're eating the shrubs. What about the migrating fowl, what about the Canada geese that land in people's yards, what about the wild turkeys, what about those nasty little squirrels that are eating people's bird seed, what about the groundhogs coming through, what about the raccoons? ... I think you're moving on a very, very slippery slope, and you should consider living in harmony. It's sort of like, people living in Ithaca expect it to snow. If you're living in a semi-rural area, you should expect to live with wildlife.

Lisa Duggan (Ithaca resident):
My name is Lisa Duggan and I am the coordinator for Friendship Donations. I'd like to read my written statement:

Friendship Donations receives food from all the six area supermarkets, as well as Greenstar and
Ithaca Produce, and many other places, seven days a week. We supply 25 pantries, kitchens and outreach programs in Ithaca and throughout Tompkins County, and I can say that Ithaca itself has absolutely no hunger problem and that there are numerous options for residents to go seven days a week for both hot meals and pantries. We also supply the following counties: Tioga, Chemung, Seneca, Steubing, Schuyler, and Yates.

The difference between FDN services and this proposal is that our food is very nutritious, often organic, including fresh produce, dairy, deli and breads, whereas is this program has numerous problems with the deer meat that you are proposing. The deer in this area are not eating in the wild, they are eating off plants that are covered in toxic pesticides, and unlike pesticides that are regulated for consumption on produce.

Your proposal would allow uninspected meat to be served. In another bait and shoot program, in which all the deer meat was donated to Attica prison, the entire lot was rejected, not fit for the prisoners.

Chronic Wasting Disease has been brought up as a possible public health risk, and a reason for shooting the deer. And at the same time you are saying that you are altruistically going to feed the poor with these deer, which would lead me to conclude that you are not concerned about killing the poor people that you are feeding.

I've also heard concerns about lyme disease as a reason for killing the deer, and I am from Long
Island, where our rate is more than 10 times what your rate is, and other areas throughout the state that I have looked up have been hundreds of times higher. This is, like this woman said, very minor, it's not a problem here at all.

I also have opposition to the thought of shooting in a densely populated area, where there are numerous alternatives and solutions that are humane.

Out of 20 members of the public who spoke at the 2001 Cayuga Heights deer meeting, 19 spoke in favor of a humane approach to solving deer-human conflicts. The lone voice for killing deer was a bow hunter from out of town. Not one of the local proponents for killing deer were willing to stand before the community and advocate for this position.

Cayuga Heights resident:
"I live on Comstock Road, one of the Ground Zero areas, and I'm just in favor of humane handling of the situation."

City of Ithaca resident:
"I have more deer in my back yard than you see in Cayuga Heights… I'm not here to talk about sterilization of deer because I don't approve of messing with deer at all… We've heard a nice word here tonight, "cull." Cull means to gather, to collect, as a writer I use this word. They're using it to mean kill. They want you to go out and take bows and arrows and guns that will tear holes through the flesh, the muscle, the sinew, the organs, and tear these poor animals to pieces… And if they believe that is humane, fair or in any way authorized, they've demonstrated their ignorance."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"I just wanted to agree with Mr. Kirkpatrick about the unfeasibility of shooting deer that know you, that look in your window at you, that have little ear tags. I've gotten to know number 30 that comes up while I'm walking my dog… I can't imagine just shooting animals -- with a gun or a bow or anything -- that you know, and they know you. I'm not against hunting, but I am against backyard hunting"

City of Ithaca resident:
"I think it's really important to remember that this issue is an issue that's active all over the country right now... We have this offer of private funding to pursue a non-lethal, humane and compassionate option. Cayuga Heights can be a study that can be used to demonstrate the efficacy of these methods in similar environments and we can be leaders throughout NY State in finding a solution that controls the deer population in a way that works for homeowners but does not destroy the deer and bring violence into our neighborhoods. I think it's a very positive opportunity."

Cayuga Heights child resident:
"I am pleased that everyone here cares about the deer in our homes… I don't know what deer ever deserved to be shot right on the spot… I don't think it should even be considered as something to do to the deer."

Caroline resident:
"I want you all to think about what you're protecting. Our lawns have evolved from Scotland. Our trees are imported from all over the world. Deer are native. There are alternatives. This process (pointing at Deer Committee report) usually takes 3-5 years. You folks are well on your way to solving this problem. In the meantime I suggest using deer barrier fence, invisible black polypropylene fencing, that costs less than $1,000 an acre."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"The Deer Committee has been composed primarily of people who want to engage in what they call culling and what others call killing. Despite all their best efforts, they have faced a population between 70 and 85% of whom oppose killing the deer. That's even when they presented a question which said, "Contraception won't work, are you in favor of culling? And still, 70% were opposed to killing the deer. I would suggest first that you can't possibly effectively kill the deer when you have that many people opposed because you will not be able to get the permissions to be within 500 feet of the residences. And when you do your survey, ask how many of you would permit killing within 500 feet of the residence. Finally, it seems to me you should also ask how many would permit contraception within 500 feet of the residences. Seems to me the real problem with the Deer Committee is they may not be able to do that because of the community opposition."

Ithaca resident:
"I live right outside Cayuga Heights in the NorthEast area and a number of the tagged deer actually visit my home every night, which doesn't bother me at all. I'm also a professor in the landscape architecture department and I think there are many ways we can live in harmony with the deer and I would hope that we set a model here in Ithaca for taking a humane approach to the, quote, deer problem, and not resort to killing the deer. … I grew up on Staten Island, and in 1960 the island was completely devoid of deer, and it's a terrible tragedy, I think, never to be able to see that beautiful wildlife at all in your community."

Irondequoit resident:
"In Irondoquoit…best friends don't even talk to each other anymore. The killing programs are the ones that have polarized the community… what's going on with bow hunting, for example is, a deer is shot in one person's backyard, it travels. They don't die right away. They travel for maybe a couple of miles, so they go through multiple backyards. We have all kinds of problems with children seeing animals with blood spurting out of them, neighbors hating neighbors, so all I can say is please try to resist any kill program."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"I'm very encouraged that a non-culling, a non-killing, solution will be reached by this group of people."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"I think that there's not a deer problem in the area, I think there's a bush and gardening problem in the area… I've been a hunter and I've lived in this area for quite a long time, my in-laws have the tagged deer in their backyards. I like seeing the deer not tagged to be honest with you. …as far as harvesting the deer in this area, I don't think that anyone here wants to see that happen, so don't let it happen."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"Please, I ask you as a community, what do you intend for your community to be, for your children and for the future… I want to ask you if you want your reality to be defined for you -- to have your living creatures and your wildlife defined for you -- by Cornell, by politicians, by bureaucrats, by the DEC and by the government… these animals, these are living creatures, and they're defined as "crops" to be "harvested."

Resident who lives on Warren Rd.
" I want deer everywhere around me. I don't consider them pests. I have two deer in the morning that welcome me at 5:00, and if they weren't there anymore it would be devastating to me… if you don't like tornadoes, don't live in Oklahoma, if you don't like hurricanes, don't live in the Caribbean, if you don't like deer, don't live in central New York."

Cayuga Heights resident:
"Fencing does in fact work. One of the most beautiful sights I have seen in my back yard was last summer, a doe, three fawns, leaning up against this fence, and with my garden in full bloom, and I'm proud of it!"

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.