I thought it was ironic that it took deer eating someone's tree to make the front page of the Times-Union - when deer have been eating the farmers' crops for years. Not eating an ornamental possession, but eating their income.
The farmers of the state of Indiana have been feeding the deer for years and have never received any monetary compensation nor thanks.
A few years ago, we had damage to one of our fields estimated by the DNR to be in excess of $3,400. When we asked the state what they would do about the damage, we were told that since the deer were owned by the people and just managed by the DNR, we would need to sue the state through a tort claim. Chances of winning were slim and to sue your self seemed ridiculous.
Non-management by the state has caused the number of deer to escalate to where Kosciusko County is now No. 1 in the state for car/deer accidents. We have done away with nature's normal predators to the deer population. The deer's main predator now is the "car."
Non-management has the farmer losing more and more of his crops. Not only do they eat, but they are very destructive by knocking down stalks of corn or large areas destroyed so they can have a place to lie down.
Since there are so many deer, they are now doing to the town-folk what they have been doing for years to the farmer - eating. Yes, they are cute and need to eat. But it is typical of the NIMBY fact - they are cute and need to eat just - Not In My Back Yard.
So until the deer are better managed, I would say to the residents of Kosciusko County - "welcome to the world of the farmer - feeding the deer of the state of Indiana."
