Dear Editor,
Okotoks town council’s bid to ban feeding deer for the express purpose of fending off the mere possibility of a brutal pummeling by the gentle ungulate is a bit of a stretch.
In the June 22 edition of the Western Wheel, Tim Stobbs, Municipal Enforcement Team Leader, states, “people don’t need a law to realize they shouldn’t be feeding deer” and places the onus on “common sense” to dictate the most appropriate course of action against our woodland guests. Stobbs frequently alludes to the probability of harmful interactions with deer and yet, goes on to admit the Town of Okotoks has not to date received a single call concerning a harrowing confrontation with the unpredictable beast.
It doesn’t take a whole lot of digging to learn that when humans routinely make provisions for undomesticated deer, it poses a much greater threat to the deer than it does to humans. Feeding deer and other forest stock on a regular basis causes their instinctual drive for survival to wane, often jeopardizing their ability to survive the harsh realities of winter. So, while hangin’ out in the Anderson’s back yard, the compulsion to forage diminishes to the point where deer become unnaturally laid back and develop and insatiable hankerin’ for “fast food”.
And then, there’s the issue of predation - the inescapable hazard of becoming someone else’s lunch.
Town Councillor, Ray Watrin is quoted as saying, “If cougars realize that deer are fair game in Okotoks they might come in as well.”
In fact, conflict between cougars and humans is extremely rare. In the past 100 years, a total of five people have been killed by cougar attacks in B.C. in comparison to bees, which kill upwards of three Canadians every year” (Safety Guide to Cougars – Government of British Columbia).
It’s been said that spotting me on the back trails of the Sheep River valley might be considered a cougar sighting.
The natural world is by far our greatest gift. To gaze beyond the fluttering lashes of a young doe grazing peacefully within the flank-height embrace of the lush green earth, is to touch upon the essence from which we all originate. Our goal then, should not be to promote the fearful elimination of our gentle guides for the sake of convenience, but rather to manage a healthy co-existence with our brothers under the sun.
Maria Boulet
Okotoks
