AR-News: (US NH) State: Don't feed the deer

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

By REBECCA TSAROS DICKSON
Monitor staff 


Human intervention destroys animals' natural coping skills. 
Want to kill some deer this winter? Forget the hunting gear. Just feed them. 
State Fish and Game officials say backyard feeding is probably the surest way 
to make deer more vulnerable to starvation, predators, car accidents and 
disease. And they're trying to stop it. 
"People think it's like feeding birds, and it's not," said Liza Poinier, 
spokeswoman for the state Fish and Game Department. "They don't handle it the same 
way. (The food) takes them out of their habitat and encourages them to 
abandon the natural coping skills that they've developed over generations." 
But despite the state's best attempt at educating the public, officials say 
deer-feeding is fast becoming a phenomenon, especially in the North Country. 
And deer food advertisements don't help. 
"People see those ads and they think, 'I can buy deer feed at the hardware 
store,' " Poinier said. "The availability and the label makes people think it's 
okay. Just because food is available doesn't mean it's proper for deer."



full story:

http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/state2004/0118_deerfeeding_2004.shtml



"The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.",
Albert Einstein

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>' .' < 

Male meat-eaters have a 50% chance of dying of a heart attack. Vegetarian men 
have a 4% risk. US vegetarians have cholesterol levels 14% lower than 
meat-eaters; vegans (those who don't consume meat or dairy products) have levels 35% 
lower. JAMA, 1995;274:894











    
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