Another local anti at it again....

[TPM]

Here's a link to an article in todays edition of our local paper. Two deer wandered into town yesterday, one had to be shot and the other was hit by a car. Interesting story until I read who the local "deer expert" was who the reporter consulted. The mans name is Larry Anstett and he is well known locally as an anti-hunter. He's a very vocal opponent of bow hunting and has made known his intent to push for a complete ban on bow hunting in Ontario. Some how he's got an "in" with the local paper and they consult him on local wildlife issues. He always manages to take a few jabs at the hunting community. I love his comment in this article where he blames the local deer population explotion on the fact that "hunters have pushed out all the predators" and that deer "travel in packs".
Anyway, read the article for yourself. Feel free to e-mail the guy who wrote the column, I did, and feel free to write to the paper. This Anstett guy has made outrageous claims and accusations in the past and when taken to task he's backed down. Looks like he's going to start it again.

http://www.therecord.com/home_page_fron ... 48058.html

[A.W]

Email sent.

[Fergie10]

email sent

[Doe Master]

Sent an e-mail as well .Can`t believe this crackpot comes out of the woodwork every year to try and get his 15 minutes of fame .

[kitty kat]

I just sent an email. I was wondering if that police officer will have himself charger for hunting out of season. If they were so concerned about the deer they would have them captured and released back into the wild. The main predator of the deer is the same as it has been for centuries, its the human. The less hunters ,the more deer killed in traffic and the more humans die in accidents because of the excess deer. That should take a lot to figure out.

[Cossack]

e mail sent. Some "expert."

[R.J.]

I sent this ... I'm no expert , but figure I know more than Larry Anstett ! ( see my e-mail message below )

The article was OK up to the point where you quoted Anstett saying " hunters have chased away most natural predators "

When did Anstett become a wildlife expert ? Or maybe he has some friends at your paper , and you give him some print ?

First and foremost sprawling sub divisions are pushing deer into traffic flow ....lets face it , you build 300 homes in an area that use to be farm land , add a network of streets across what has been deer trails for longer then you and I have been alive , and you will get more human / deer conflicts ... from raiding urban gardens to deer / car collisions ...

If you want to see a herd of deer that have co-existed with humans for the past 20 years or more ... check out the local herd that yard in the creek flats between the CAA building and the CAW hall around Manitou in Kitchener from late December till May every year ...

If it were not for hunters managing the deer population through controlled harvests , during the 3 month archery season as well as the few weeks of the shotgun and muzzle loader season , things would be alot worse ... here are some facts ...

There is a reported motor vehicle/wildlife collision every 38 minutes in this province. 90% involve white-tailed deer.
One out of every 18 reported motor vehicle collisions in Ontario involves some form of wildlife.
In 2003 alone, 13,729 collisions were reported. This resulted in 4 deaths, 500 serious injuries and millions of dollars in damage claims.
Without the annual deer hunt, wildlife experts estimate that vehicle collisions with deer would increase by at least 300 percent.
Ontario hunters have an exceptional safety record. All hunters must complete over 20 hours of training and pass federal and provincial examinations. The Canada Safety Council has reported that hunting is measurably safer than a number of outdoor activities including hiking, skating, boating, golfing and cycling.
Hunting in Ontario represents $1.5 billion in annual economic activity which, in many communities, supports hotels, gas stations, grocery stories, restaurants and a number of other employment opportunities.

According to the Owen Sound Sun Times, local police investigated 453 motor vehicle collisions with deer in 2005, up 76 percent from the previous year. This year, it may be worse.

In the first two weeks of January, Grey County OPP investigated 67 collisions, 29 involved deer. Many more of these collisions are reported only to insurance companies, and as a result, all drivers may pay the price for a record number of these claims.

I am and have been a licenced Ontario Hunter since I was 16 years old ... I'm 46 now ... Here is a link to some pictures I have taken during the hunting season .... funny , I'm not chasing any preadtors away ? And in fact ... healthy whitetail deer have nothing to fear from Coyotes ... I have seen Coyotes take down sick / weak / or young deer .... but as a predator that affects whitetail numbers in Ontario , they are not even in the equation ! .... If you want some predator prey info / facts ... contact the MNR .

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... hp?t=18118



I take offence to Larry Anstetts comments , and the fact you quoted them ...

I do not know Larry Anstett , but from what I have read , he is definately an Anti Hunter and loves to get a dig in at hunters whenever he can , no matter how uniformed his comments are ...

We have been canvased in the past to subscribe to your paper and have recently considered it , but after reading your article I wonder how many other reports in your paper will be biased without proper research ? So I'll pass again ...

Please forgive any mistakes in grammar or spelling ... I'm not a writer and I cant find the spell check on this e-mail system ?

PS : I will also be forwarding your article to many of my friends that do subscribe , and ask them to cancel as well ... Hey I know it will have little affect on the big picture , but it's my way of adding my $ 0.02

[schnarrfuss]

Well said there R.J. E-mail sent also.

[mtbyak]

Well put Rick.

I myself have seen nothing but an explosion in the deer population over the years & this is since they re-opened the deer hunting in your area

I remember the days when there was no deer hunting in the K-W/Golden Triangle region & most people were lucky to see a deer, but predator hunting was very strong in the area, now predator hunting is at a low due to the decrease in revenue from the pelts & there is so many more deer.

Mr. A. should research a little more before he opens his mouth & calls himself an expert.

Email sent.

Shoot Straight
Kirk

[TPM]

Great to see all the reponses! Kudos to RJ for your excellent reponse. I gave him some of the same facts. I think it's a good thing if these reporters hear the truth about these issues.
Some of you may remember all the newspaper coverage Mr. Anstett got a couple of years ago. He owns a small farm near Haysville and he claims he found somewhere around seven dead deer over a few weeks on his farm alone with arrows stuck in them. He made it sound like bowhunters just use deer for target practice and if they don't drop dead in front of them most won't bother to track them. He also said that bowhunting is cruel as it rarely results in a humane kill. There were a number of rebuttals in the paper from hunters and even neighbouring farmers of his who said his claims were ridiculous. He still manages to take jabs at hunters every opportunity he gets.

[schnarrfuss]

Just wondering if anyone got any replies back from the paper???

[Doe Master]

From what I understand Larry A. was associated with the record as a editor or something .That is why he knows full well how to munipulate the media . I remember when him ,Mr. Maclean from rogers and Bill T. got into a on radio conversation .Larry A would spout off and then Bill would shut him down with the facts .