Musings: Deer are pests, not Disney stars
Deer can carry ticks that cause Lyme disease. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
One of the many things I don’t get is the reaction to culling disease-spreading deer.
We constantly exterminate rats, mice, and cockroaches because they are a threat to human health. But deer, which carry the ticks that cause Lyme disease, get a pass. We are told we can’t just kill them and distribute their meat. Maybe it’s their round eyes or their romanticization as a result of the Disney movie “Bambi.”
After all, many movies have been made about rats and mice that have been the protagonists, and we still exterminate them.
Deer are pests that destroy home and commercial gardens, and it’s time to acknowledge they’re akin to rats and mice. It’s time to allow these pests to be culled before more people are infected and their lives upended.
— Ken Geller, Rockville Centre
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