Today, the Monday after Thanksgiving marks an important holiday in the lives of many Pennsylvanians, which is why you see so many children home from school on this day.  November 26th is the start of deer hunting season.

While deer season is not universal, and it is not solely a Pennsylvania thing, there are reasons why our Commonwealth sponsors it, why it is important even to people who live in a city and rarely see a deer.

The Virginia Whitetail Deer is native to the woods along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.  It is not the largest deer in the US (the moose) nor the smallest (the key deer of Florida), neither of which are found in Pennsylvania.  It is called the Whitetail because of the white "flag", the underside of it's tail, that it raises when running from trouble.  They are pretty animals, after all.  We have herds of deer traveling all across the state eating whatever they can.  How is this a problem?   These deer eat bushes, grass, acorns, sometimes corn from cornfields and other crops.  They are, so far as I know, the only animal that will eat poison ivy safely.  Unfortunately their eating habits become a problem when these deer are eating shrubs and flowers from a garden.  And they are adaptable.  There is a herd of deer in downtown Allentown, and it is probable they are everywhere that has a large number of trees or bushes to allow them  cover for hiding.

Aside from their eating crops and gardens, deer carry a small creature called a deer tick.  Most  ticks that Pennsylvanians see are the dog tick, which is about 1/4 of an inch.  Deer ticks are much smaller, about the size of a pencil point, and they carry Lyme Disease.  Dogs, cats, and people can get Lyme, which is a debilitating and chronic illness if not caught soon enough.  The deer get the ticks from woodmice, and they carry them to places where people live, or walk their dogs.  If you get what you think is a spider bite, and it develops a round red bulls-eye around the bite, please get to a doctor immediately, as the chances are you might have Lyme.  http://www.dog-health-guide.org/lymediseasedog.html

                                         (top row are deer ticks, bottom row are dog ticks)


Third, the only predator for these animals is mankind.  If the deer herd in Pennsylvania outgrows the number that the land can sustain, then the deer will die of starvation or illness.  Disease hits overcrowded populations hard, which can lead to an epidemic.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pgc/9106) was established in 1895, and is responsible for managing the deer and other game animal populations.  They set the dates for hunting (there are separate seasons for hunting deer with bow and arrow, black powder or muzzle-loader weapons, and for youth hunting), and the limits, and they charge for the licenses, which brings in revenue.  Parts of the state also earn money from the hunters who come not just from within Pennsylvania, but from all over.  This revenue is a good income source for PA, and for people who own businesses in hunting areas. 

By allowing a controlled harvest of the deer herd, Pennsylvania works to keep the population within the limits that the land can sustain.  That way there will be fewer deaths due to starvation, and less likelihood of passing on disease.  Please keep in mind that all animals are susceptible to illnesses such as rabies, and that is a fatal sickness for humans.

I was asked once why we can't just administer birth control drugs to deer and other animals (like the Canada Goose) that become a problem.  It is not feasible or cost effective to administer drugs by dart gun, nor can we put drugs in their food, nor is there any way to spay or neuter the deer the way we would a cat or dog.  Remember that the deer herd is a natural part of the land, and we don't want to do anything that would destroy it.  Hunters are not trying to wipe out the deer.

Finally, a number of families in Pennsylvania hunt for meat.   The deer get butchered, then go into the freezer, and they live off of that until the next season comes.  I have known families where the kids (twelve and up) and the wife and husband all hunt.  Each gets a deer for each season, and that is their meat for the year.  It is not so prevalent here in the Lehigh Valley as it is in Mifflin, Juniata, or Bradford counties (to name only a few), but there are families who do that here as well.

You can read more about animals in Pennsylvania by reading Pennsylvania Game News, available at the public and school library, or by visiting their website (http://www.penngamenews.com/).  You must be a subscriber to read the current issues, but the archives are open and free for everyone!

It will be deer season for the next two weeks.  So, if you like a walk in Penn's Woods, please do not do it between November 26th and December 8th of 2012, unless you're willing to wear BLAZE Orange and still be risking life and limb.