NDR:Insurance Co. VS Deer managment Whats your opinion

bballard

bballard

Well-known member
With the latest deer managment tool now implemented in Michigan I started to do some poking around and reading on the subject.
It seems that one of the most often quoted sources comes from state or national based insurance co. and always bends towards the cost of car deer accidents and to michigans over poulation of deer.
Many articles lean towards a humane sharp shooter conclusion and or a whole sale permit system to reach their goals of managble numbers. Very few lean towards hunter based harvests as the right action. Many insurance based references seem to actually blame hunters for forcing deer to flee to the roadways.
I just have to question a bit in regard to how influential insurance co. are when it comes to our wildlife managment decisions?
What is your opinion.
B
 
I manage a body shop and you would be really concerned to know just how much control over our lives insurance companies have, even the management of wildlife, especially in states where the legislature controls management decisions instead of biologists. Big money RUNS state governments whether we like it or not. When something costs insurance companies profit... it goes away! They are the new organized crime.

Here in PA it is fairly clear to see insurance companies and timber sales (state owned land=state $$) drive the deer management even though we have a "game commission" and are not regulated directly by the state legislature.

Don't get me wrong, our antler restrictions and killing off of does is making bigger deer with better racks but not everyone is a trophy hunter.

Just like resident geese... very few people have access to the areas where there really is a population issue that needs controlled.

Believe me, if you think the insurance companies are controlling something, they are and have been for a long time.

Gene
 
Insurance companies are constantly pushing for larger deer harvests. I am not surprised that Michigan sees a lot of pushing from them. I have to say that Michigan is the most screwed up state I have ever seen when it comes to car insurance. Nofault really sucks! Some a**hole hits you and your insurance has to pay for it, just plan sucks.
 
There is a scientific study that shows deer move away from roaded areas during hunting season. Hunting is still the most cost effective way to manage a deer population. It sounds like the antis got into the back room.
 
Yep, the liberalized deer harvest(doe) is a direct result of the Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance company. They lobbied like crazy because of the millions of dollars in car/deer accidents. I think it came down to the DNR to figure a way to try and fix it. Can you imagine a sharpshooter trying to control our deer population when 750,000 deer hunters can't make a dent in it? And that is just the firearms hunters.Man, I can only eat so much venison....backstraps I could eat 3 times a week but I got sick of burger back when the kids were little and dollars were tight.
 
We never use to have a problem with to many deer until they raised the fines for taking them out of season. That program was highly successful. Also people by the time they buy their license and other paraphernalia have more invested than they could buy beef out of the store.

Hunters have also changed. Although there are more hunters, the average hunter does not work as hard in getting a deer. There are more stand hunters and deer are not moved as much.

When you mention sharp shooters that's a laugh. The state of Wis spent Millions to eliminate CWD They had to have a shooter and about five other people surrounding the area to shoot a deer. Each payed well. All they had to do was pay farmers a hundred dollars a deer. They could have eliminated all the deer and it would have cost them one third as much.
 
I know of several farmers that have applied for depredation tags to keep them from eating up their profits. Hearing reports of shooting up to 70 deer on one farm, makes you wonder how many deer do we really have? As I said in a earlier post the insurance lobbyist here in SC had our season extended. It now opens on Aug.15 in the low country and runs until Jan. 1st. With that being said we only harvested a little over 200,000 deer on the books. There are so many people that process their own deer and others there is no telling what the true numbers are.
 
The City of Baltimore just opened part of one of their reservoirs to bow hunting and another part to snipers. There had to be a lobby behind the move, I guarantee it wasn't b/c Mayor Dixon supports hunting, and the anti's were out in force.

Shooting mature does is the best way to manage a population, and letting hunters do it is the only way IMO.

In a place like MD, winters don't affect the deer, which leaves cars as the only non hunting solution for population control. We do have some Coyotes spreading out a bit, but they better be doing some serious breeding to catch up with the deer. The yotes seem to have a taste for cats anyway.

Our biggest problem is a lack of education/understanding about harvesting deer with a bow. I just picked up two more suburban places to help thin their herds, but without access from nearly all of the neighbors there is only so much I can do.

-D
 
Where I hunt near Black River Falls, one of the hunters next to our place had 55 tags they were allowed. All the old timers came by, each bringing their guns of choice. Set them all up on open fields or edges. Few of the young un's hopped on the ATV's for a "joy ride in the hills" They shot anything that moved. spots? who cares. Horns? does? whatever they saw they shot. In one weekend they filled up and then donated the mass of meat to the food pantry.

Needless to say I saw only 7 deer this past year where normally it is over 50-75....

In Shawano County I know of 2 retired sharpshooters who basically do the same thing for various farmers. All they do is plug um, farmer usually gives them some money for the bullets. They have bragged of shooting "several deer" a day, they are kinda sly about it, but both have said they have shot over 30 in a weekend themselves....

Yet read in WI where there are too many deer, yet ask any hunter in the last few years....where are the deer?????

Not many people are seeing deer like they used to.

One point I want to make though is where I hunt, we used to have 12 guys. Now we are down to 4, most got old, died or just stopped hunting. Drives are gone, only stand hunting in comfy shacks is the norm. so you always wonder are deer down or is it just the lack of hunters pushing them???

Insurance companies are winning the battle though
 
Eric, I heard through the gossip vine that a local farmer shot over 40 deer and just burried them with his back hoe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top