A controversial deer cull last year has put Southold Town on the map, with opponents still raging around the world, according to Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell.
After all was said and done, the controversial deer cull only resulted in the death of 132 deer on the North Fork, according to a study released by the United States Department of Agriculture in August.
But those numbers haven’t stemmed the tide of fierce backlash, Russell said.
“I receive no less than 30 emails a day opposing the cull,” the supervisor told SoutholdLOCAL.
According to Russell, the California-based non-profit group In Defense of Animals has created a petition. IDA, its website states, was “founded in 1983 by Dr. Elliot Katz DVM, and “is an international animal rights and rescue organization dedicated to protecting the rights, welfare and habitats of animals.”
The group opposes culls and proposes sustainable activism and responsible research, among other objectives.
“When the plans for the cull were being implemented, my office received several hundred of these over the course of a couple of weeks,” Russell said. “We continued to get them in large numbers for a good while after the cull. Now we get 30-40 or more emails each day on a consistent basis. The people that send them are from throughout the entire United States and many are from other countries, including Iceland and Sweden.”
Russell reflected this week on why the cull continues to ignite such a heated response. “I suspect that, because the issue had been an emotional one, people still feel compelled to voice their opposition. It is also quite possible that some may think that voicing opposition may deter the Long Island Farm Bureau from sponsoring a cull in the future and will discourage Southold Town from participating in one,” he said.
He added that while the cull may not have been popular and it “certainly wasn’t successful,” residents should keep in mind that Southold’s financial liability was small.
Each of the five East End towns, he said, was asked to contribute $25,000 to the cull. “Southold made the commitment, and kept the commitment, to move forward by contributing the requested cost. Because the scope of the cull was substantially narrowed by successful litigation, the Long Island Farm Bureau agreed to give Southold half of its contribution back,” he said.
While almost half of the emails come from afar, Russell acknowledged the opposition from local critics on the East End.
“Southold Town participated in the cull with the understanding that it may not work. However, we believed that we had to try something. We explored other options but all were costly and ineffective. We will continue to look for new solutions. Recreational hunting is certainly part of a solution, but will not be enough on its own. We have been running our own hunts on town land for several years now and have seen it become more successful each year. We have successfully lobbied for changes to New York State hunting regulations but the changes need to go farther– and hunting will only take us so far.”
Russell added, “You don’t win a war without losing a few battles and the cull was a setback in an ongoing effort.”
On the upside, the supervisor said, “If there is a silver lining, Southold is known throughout the world now. Perhaps these people will come and visit our town to yell at me in person. Maybe they will stay for a few days at a local hotel and shop at our local businesses and wineries. Ideally, they would each be willing to take a deer home with them when they leave.”
A press conference was held in August on the steps of Southold Town Hall to discuss the results of the “Long Island White-Tailed Deer Damage Management Demonstration Project Report”.
Joe Gergela, recently retired executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, said at the time that the deer cull came about in response to critical concerns over not only public safety due to tick-borne illnesses and car accidents, but also, the millions of dollars in economic damage to local farmers — as well as a devastating impact on the natural environment. He said, despite the results, the cull was a pilot program and proved that to address the issue, a regional approach needs to be taken.
“The numbers were disappointing for many reasons,” said Karen Rivara, president of the board of the LIFB.
The cull, Gergela said, was commenced with a $200,000 state grant, and was the first of its kind locally. Various factors, including a very cold winter, and a lawsuit that cuffed the hands of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing deer damage permits, hindered efforts, he said.
“It’s was not as successful as we would have liked,” Gergela said.
But, Rivara said, there is always a “learning curve with a pilot” and the cull was successful in raising awareness and also helped to feed the hungry, with over 6,000 lbs. of venison donated to Long Island Harvest.
Martin Lowery of the USDA said deer are “changing life” on Long Island and threatening the health and safety of residents, due to vehicle collisons. Hunters help, he said — and Gergela agreed the cull was meant to complement efforts by hunters — but in a suburban environment “hunting has its limitations,” Lowery said.
The cull, he added, was “safe, with no accidents” and done in a humane fashion.
“We will be coming back in the future if the community asks us to come back,” he said.
Gergela added that the cull was “one tool in the toolbox” to fight an escalating problem.
Russell, who was thanked by all present for remaining steadfast to the mission, said last summer, when asked if the cull would take place this year, “It’s accurate to say that all options need to stay on the table. This is an environmental, ecomomic, and public health crisis. This was the first step, but we need a long-term solution.”
Russell said all options would be explored, with an eye toward fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.
Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, who grew up on a farm during a time when there were no deer, said deer were destroying efforts to keep stormwater runoff clean and safe. He agreed that a regional approach was critical. “We’ve all got to work on this together.”
New York State Assemlyman Anthony Palumbo, a New Suffolk resident, pointed to new legislation that will relax hunting restrictions from 500 to 150 near homes. In addition, Palumbo said, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, New York State Senaor Ken LaValle and he have worked to extend the hunting season to March 31 and on weekends.
“This is an epidemic,” Palumbo said. “It’s more than just Bambi eating the flowers.”
Gergela confirmed last summer that half the $25,000 that the LIFB received from the Town of Southold for the cull would be returned. “They want to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of Southold.”
Reflecting on the cull, he said, “It was like the perfect storm of problems.” While some landowners had initially complained about deer, he said, ultimately, the threat of a boycott of local businesses made some landowners hesitant to sign on.
A vocal contingent of naysayers from the South Fork, who spoke out against the cull, did not help, he said. “The nasty tactics by the vocal minorty was problematic,” he said. “Some very wealthy people have ideas about birth control of deer — instead of suing everyone, why don’t they put up their millions and set up a program to see how that works? Let them put their money where their mouths are,” Gergela said.
After the event, Bridgehampton resident Wendy Chamberlin, president of the Wildlife Preservation Coalition, said while there was a problem, there were other means to control the deer population that should be explored.
