Dalton deer in headlights of city council meeting

In the recent Dalton Gardens newsletter, it states that "the city will be advertising for trappers to review the possibility of continuing the deer trapping pilot project that was coordinated with Idaho Fish and Game last year." The city is looking for a new trapper because last year's trapper is no longer participating, perhaps due in part to the fact that "the stresses, potential for injury to trapper and animal are not, in my opinion as a professional trapper, ethical and humane." Despite last year's lackluster results, the city has appropriated $10,000 in the city budget to go towards "wildlife management" aka the trapping program. Double the amount from last year, and if the trapping program continues, the costs will continue to rise. This yearly cost increase was predicted by Fish and Game and can be seen in other cities who have enacted hunting or trapping programs to manage deer.

So how did the trap and relocation program go last year? The city hired a trapper to trap 25 deer and relocate them. According to the trapper's report, two traps were tampered with resulting in the release of one deer, and the initial traps were not rigid enough to withstand the panicked thrashing of the deer and needed to be made stronger. This resulted in lost trapping time.

At the end of the trapping time frame, 10 deer were trapped and relocated, two bucks and 8 does. According to the report these deer suffered some hair loss, scrapes, and scratches during the trap and transport process. "Nine of the 10 deer were released in relatively good condition other than appearing fatigued having fought against the restraints during the transport. The one deer most concerning was a mature doe who aborted its pregnancy while being driven to the release zone. Upon release it appeared to me that her blood loss, extreme exhaustion and stress made it evident to me her survival was unlikely."

What wasn't said is that the chance of survival for the other 9 deer is also unlikely. That is because of a condition called Capture Myopathy which is widely recognized in hoofed animals such as deer, affecting any muscle group in the front or back legs or the heart. There are several situations that cause capture myopathy including trapping, capture, and transport. The stressed out deer thrash in the traps and against the restraints exerting their muscles which change the muscle metabolism and causes a buildup of lactic acid which drops the pH in the body affecting heart output. If the heart does not pump oxygen to the muscle the muscle starts to die. As the muscles die they release a product called myoglobin. Myoglobin damages the excretion part of the kidney, other organs are affected, the lungs become congested and bleed, and the liver becomes swollen and pale. The deer sweats or pants, has trouble breathing, heart rate speeds up, becomes weak or has a stiff gait, and experiences muscle tremors before collapsing and dying. The onslaught of Capture Myopathy begins at the time of capture and through the restraint process. It may take hours, days, and even up to four weeks before death occurs.

As of this date, a full comprehensive review of the trap and relocation program has not been initiated. And yet the city council has already decided to look for another trapper at double the allocated funds to continue this program, well before the city council meeting that may or may not put this topic on the agenda for the meeting this upcoming Thursday night. This in spite of the fact that members of the deer ad-hoc committee could find no evidence of a deer overpopulation problem including; low deer vehicle collision reports, no premise for predators following deer into the community, and virtually no risk of humans catching a disease from deer including Lyme disease (0-2 cases in the five northern counties of Idaho a year). What was proven is that there is a high rate of deer browsing in the city limits. In addition, members of the community are currently working with outside agencies to acquire the tools and information to help resolve deer browsing conflicts through management and education to help individual home owners, and the possible implementation of an immuno-contraception project. Thus far, the city council has shown little or no interest in working toward this type of solution which could likely save taxpayer dollars as well.

Saddest of all is that the trap and relocation program WILL NOT resolve deer conflicts. Whenever there's an abrupt, short-term drop in the deer population, a phenomenon called compensatory rebound comes into effect. Since the same amount of food is now available to a smaller number of animals, the bodies of the deer react by becoming more fertile. Deer from outlying areas may also come in to fill the gap. So all the money applied to the program could be better spent. Especially if the program itself creates a situation where there are more and more deer to contend with each year.

Please attend the Dalton Gardens city council meeting this Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. Ask your city council why they chose to move forward with a trap/relocation program when non-lethal means of deer management are being presented. The trap/relocation program is fueled by a relatively small number of resident complaints, mostly those residents who live closer to Canfield Mountain where deer have and will continue to reside regardless of any intervention put in place.

Jamie Smith is a resident of Dalton Gardens.