Since the subject of hunting for food and/or sport has come up, I'd like to point out that some of us support killing deer for ecological reasons.   Deer overpopulation has been described as an "ongoing catastrophe" in BIOSCIENCE because of what it is doing to natural areas across the eastern U.S.  I don't hunt deer myself, but I am grateful to the hunters who (ethically and legally) shoot does.  And many (if not most) Iowa natural areas would be better off if more does were killed every year.  

 

The often-cited recommendation of thirty deer per square mile is based on sociology, meaning the level at which significant numbers of people start complaining about deer damage.  We should aim for much lower deer densities if we want to protect native ecosystems.  Unfortunately, some parts of Iowa have deer densities of more than fifty deer per square mile.   We need to do better. 

 

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