Press
Release February
3, 2004
Contact:
Tom Baptist (203) 869-5272
AUDUBON
GREENWICH CONCLUDES DEER HUNT
Greenwich.
The program to reduce the population of white-tailed deer at
the Audubon Greenwich sanctuary on Riversville Road has been
discontinued until the beginning of the next hunting season, Tom
Baptist announced today. Baptist is the Executive Director for Audubon
in Connecticut. “Audubon is
reducing the deer population in order to restore the biological health
of the sanctuary. This
year’s effort represents significant progress toward that goal”
Baptist said. “Working with the Greenwich Sportsmen and
Landowner’s Association (GSLA), a total of thirty deer were killed
by bowhunters, and none were wounded and unaccounted for.”
Audubon’s
decision to reduce the deer herd on its 285-acre sanctuary from
more than 60 to approximately 5 deer is
based on a study that revealed that deer are negatively impacting the
forest ecosystem on Audubon land in Greenwich.
According to the study by Kenichi Shono, a Masters Degree
Candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies,
deer are undermining the value of the sanctuary as a biological
reserve for plants, birds and animals by consuming more than 60 tons
of vegetation each year.
The
hunt began November 3 and concluded January 31.
Sixteen men and women bowhunters spent 347.4 hours during the
season, averaging 11.6 hours of hunting for every deer killed.
Of the thirty deer killed, twenty-eight were does and two were
males (one male was antlerless). All
meat from deer harvested on the property, approximately 1,000 pounds,
was donated to the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.
Audubon
has determined that reducing deer numbers will ensure the overall
health and well being of the deer, and will ensure sustainability of
wildflowers, other herbaceous and shrub species, and a full complement
of the native forest bird community, and healthy population levels of
other wildlife. Currently, deer
densities at the sanctuary far exceed the level found to sustain
healthy habitat diversity.
Baptist
emphasized that successful implementation of the deer management plan
will result in the maintenance of a healthier ecosystem, reduction of
health risks from deer tick-borne diseases, and a decrease in the
number of deer/vehicle accidents in the area.
Audubon selected bow hunting as the preferred hunting method to
minimize safety concerns relating to hunting with rifles and shotguns.
Sixteen
members of the Greenwich Sportsmen and Landowner’s Association (GSLA)
participated in the deer hunt. “Clearly, the marksmen and women
exercised discretion and ethics in taking only shots that were lethal,
thus minimizing the risk of wounding or maiming deer” Baptist said.
“Audubon is grateful for their concern for the ecological
health of the sanctuary and for their contribution of time and
energy.” The GSLA emphasizes
training and ethical methods in all of its hunts and requires the
12-hour National Bowhunter Education Foundation course and marksman
proficiency testing of all its members, as well as a formal
application and interview for membership, before being permitted to
hunt on Audubon land.
“We
are confident that an annual program of limited hunting will reduce
the number of resident deer at the Center and ultimately improve the
ecological condition of the forest.
A monitoring program will be put in place to allow us to assess
the success of our efforts to restore this ecologically significant
habitat”, Baptist said.
The
mission of Audubon Connecticut
is to further the
protection of birds, other wildlife and their habitats through
science, education, advocacy and conservation, for the benefit of
humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
02/01/04: Greenwich
Sportsmen & Landowners Association:Total donated 2178 pounds of
venison representing 66 deer.[30 From Audubon property]
01/27/04: Greenwich
Sportsmen & Landowners Association (GSLA) is proud to have donated a
total of 63 deer, 2079 pounds to the Lower Fairfield County Food Bank.
The $2520 to pay the butcher ($40 per deer) was raised from donations
from members and landowners. As you may know, GSLA offers to pay for all
butchering costs if the hunter donates the entire deer. In addition many
hours were spent by GSLA members to pick up the meat, label the bags,
deliver the venison and manage the program.
Deer hunt in Greenwich sparks
unusual controversy
December 22, 2003 Associated
Press
STAMFORD, Conn. -- The
poor on Connecticut's Gold Coast are caught in the crossfire of an
unusual controversy that has left them with competing offers of exotic
food.
The choice: Deer meat courtesy of conservationists, or vegetarian fare
donated by animal rights activists opposed to the deer hunt.
Some advocates are not amused that the homeless have been brought into a
dispute over deer hunting.
"To use the most disenfranchised population as pawns is
upsetting," said Kate Lombardo, executive director of the Food Bank
of Lower Fairfield County.
The dispute began when Audubon Connecticut decided last month to allow
bow hunting of deer on its 285-acre sanctuary in wealthy Greenwich.
Audubon officials said the deer population of about 60 had grown so
large it was damaging the ecosystem by ravaging wildflowers, shrubs and
wildlife species. Ten staff members had contracted Lyme disease, they
said.
The conservation group is donating about 500 pounds of deer meat from
the hunt to area homeless shelters and soup kitchens.
"Venison is delicious," said Tom Baptist, vice president and
executive director of Audubon Connecticut. "It's the most sensible
thing to do with the deer."
But Friends of Animals in Darien objected and countered with an offer of
an equal amount of such vegetarian fare as tempeh London broil or
spinach lasagna.
"We're willing to cook them meals and also have them catered to
replace, pound-for-pound, deer flesh with other foods that aren't
produced from acts of cruelty," said Priscilla Feral, president of
Friends of Animals. "Now call off the hunt."
The offer did not go over well.
"They offered some kind of lentil casseroles. Can you see giving a
child lentil casserole?" Lombardo said. "Where are these
people all the rest of the year? We didn't exist until the deer in
Greenwich started to be killed. I can't accept food in lieu of
sacrificing another donor."
Feral blamed Audubon Connecticut for dragging the homeless into the
controversy. She said her group does plan to feed the homeless when it
publishes a cookbook in the spring on vegan meals, which avoid all
animal products including eggs, milk and honey.
"It's not an insult to offer creative nutritious vegetarian
food," Feral said.
Audubon officials said the counteroffer would not lead them to call off
the deer hunt, which they say is necessary to restore the sanctuary's
ecosystem.
"Their offer to provide food to the needy is admirable. But
unfortunately that offer won't help us address the deer problem
here," Baptist said.
The debate seemed far removed from reality at a soup kitchen in Stamford
last week as Hugh Butler ate a lunch of turkey and mashed potatoes.
"I'm six months unemployed. I don't care what I eat," said
Butler, 56, his hand shaking as he lifted the food with a fork.
Butler suggested the deer be directed to the homes of animal rights
activists.
"You teach the deer to go and only nibble on their lawns and rose
bushes," Butler said. "That to me would be poetic
justice."
The debate seemed to perplex Robert West, 46, who lives in a homeless
shelter in Stamford.
"So the people in Darien are concerned about the deer hunting in
Greenwich?" he asked. "I've been a meat eater all my life. I'm
not going to change just because someone else wants to change me."
But Carlos Chavez, 32, was more sympathetic, saying he was mostly
vegetarian and thought the offer was a good one.
"We should instill in people to eat healthier food," Chavez
said.
The Fund for Animals says bow hunting results in "an astounding
crippling rate" for deer and will cause numerous animals to suffer.
The group suggested alternatives such as fencing, repellents and
wildlife warning reflectors to eliminate car collisions with deer.
Audubon officials did consider alternatives and concluded bow hunting is
the most efficient and effective solution, Baptist said.
Some homeless advocates have sought neutral ground.
"It certainly has ruffled some feathers," said Jerome Roberts,
community relations manager of a local homeless shelter. "The
feeling here is we are not taking a stance either way."
http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/statewire/hc-22015231.apds.m0994.bc-ct--aududec22,1,6974165.story
The Homeless and the Meatless
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
GREENWICH, Conn., Dec. 9 — When a deer hunt was
proposed on 285 acres of pristine open land here owned by the Audubon
center, it was not surprising that hunters, animal rights activists and
bird lovers found themselves locked in battle.
What was surprising was who was caught in the
crossfire — Fairfield County's homeless.
It started innocently enough when the Audubon,
looking for ways to reduce the number of deer that had the run of the
place, asked that any deer killed in the hunt go to feed the hungry.
Similar programs have resulted in some 28,000 pounds of venison going to
Connecticut charities in the last eight years. Hunters were happy with the
proviso. Animal rights activists were not.
"I don't think we have to shoot the state's
deer to feed the hungry," said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends
of Animals in Darien, Conn.
Instead, her group has pledged to replace,
pound-for-pound, the 1,600 pounds of venison that the local food bank
would reap from the deer hunt with what it calls "cruelty free"
vegan fare. That is, if the Audubon calls off its hunt. Even stricter than
vegetarians, vegans avoid all animal products including eggs, milk and
honey.
According to Ms. Feral, proposed menus could
include tempeh London broil, lentil orzo casserole, carrot paté,
wheat-free apple pie and other specialties her organization is developing
for a vegan cookbook called "Dining With Friends," which is soon
to be published.
The only hitch is, for the homeless and the people
who look after them this is one tiff they would rather miss. "The
homeless should not be caught in the middle," said Donna Price,
director of the New Covenant House of Hospitality, a Stamford soup
kitchen. "If there's a debate to kill the deer or not, it should not
affect the homeless."
Front and center in the squall is Audubon
Greenwich, an operating unit of the National Audubon Society. The national
group describes itself as a leading advocate of "birds, wildlife and
the places they need to survive." But with its focus on birds, the
Greenwich center says its hands are tied now that several species of
ground-nesting birds are being driven away by deer. Ten members of its
staff have contracted Lyme disease or other illnesses spread by deer
ticks. It wants the number of deer living on its property, estimated at
60, pruned to less than 10 within three years.
It struck an agreement with the Greenwich
Sportsmen & Landowners Association, whose members participate in the
Hunters for the Hungry program. The early morning hunts began on Nov. 3
and will run through January. In exchange for being able to hunt with bows
on the property, participants pledged to donate whatever they killed to
the Lower Fairfield County food bank. "Hundred percent of it is going
to the needy," said M. Robert DeLaney, a former chief financial
officer for The Chicago Tribune who is one of the sportsmen.
But once Friends of Animals learned about the hunt
in October, they charged that the homeless were being used. The animal
rights group opposes hunting and is particularly incensed that a wildlife
organization would sanction it. "A bow hunt on an Audubon sanctuary
is obscene," Ms. Feral said.
She also said that feeding wild game to the
homeless puts them at risk because state law allows hunters to donate meat
without F.D.A. approval.
Among those who feed the hungry, reactions were
less than keen to the "let them eat cake but only if it's wheat
free" camp. Kate Lombardo, the executive director of the Lower
Fairfield County Food Bank, said she, too, was no fan of hunting. But, she
said, "I have a mission." So when free venison is being offered,
"the most we can do is take it, ensure it's labeled appropriately and
have it here if someone wants it."
She also pointed out that home-cooked or catered
meals, along the lines of what Ms. Feral was suggesting, presented safety
issues as well. "Are they in Health Department approved
kitchens?" she asked. "There's arguments on both sides of the
fence about food security and food handling."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/10/nyregion/10DEER.html?ex=1072078092&ei=1&en=bc4ebf44611d0965
Decision on hunting was
not made lightly
November 24, 2003
To the editor:
Greenwich Time on Nov. 10 carried a letter with the inflammatory
headline, "Deer hunt will lead to years of slaughter at Audubon
site." The writer claims to be a part-time volunteer at Audubon
Greenwich. If she was interested enough to volunteer, why didn't she
have the interest and common decency to discuss her concerns with Tom
Baptist, executive director of Audubon Greenwich, before castigating him
in print. Had she done so, she might have learned:
* Mr. Baptist is a sensitive, highly knowledgeable naturalist with a
love of all wildlife and a deep commitment to conservation.
* Audubon's mission is to motivate children and adults to engage in
conservation, restoration and enjoyment of nature, focusing on birds,
other wildlife and their habitats. But severe over-population of deer
has led to destruction of the habitats of other wildlife and birds.
Everything edible from ground level to as high as they can reach is
being decimated. Several bird species that nest close to the ground are
completely gone, along with wild azaleas and other bushes. It is
increasingly difficult for Audubon to carry out its mission as habitats
disappear and the ecology of the area is disrupted.
* Deer carry ticks, which cause Lyme disease. This creates a health
hazard for those who enjoy the 15 miles of hiking trails in the
sanctuary. The more deer, the bigger the risk.
* The decision to employ bow hunters to reduce the herd was not made
without careful consideration of the alternatives. Only licensed,
experienced bow hunters will be used.
Audubon must reduce the deer population to manageable levels if it is to
carry out its mission and also protect the health of those who enjoy
this priceless sanctuary.
Greenwich should congratulate Audubon and Tom Baptist for the courageous
stand they have taken for the benefit of us all.
Marshall Clark Greenwichhttp://www.greenwichtime.com/news/opinion/letters/scn-gt-lettertotheeditor11.24nov24.story
Critics of deer hunting
lacking in background
November 13, 2003
To the editor:
I am amused by the self-proclaimed "experts and part-time
volunteers" who, based on an animated movie and a couple of hikes
through woods, claim to know more than the professionals and highly
educated biologists who reach conclusions and establish methodology
through research, field study and hard data.
In a letter published in Greenwich Time on Nov. 10, Ms. Irene LaRusso
referred to the state- and Audubon-sanctioned deer hunt at Greenwich
Audubon as a "slaughter." Obviously, Ms. LaRusso has never
attended or completed a federally or state-mandated hunting and
wildlife management course that all hunters must take to obtain a
valid license. Had Ms. LaRusso been involved in such a course, her
graphic and heart-rending description of the mother and child viewing
a wounded deer on the lawn would've depicted a far more common and
tragic scene.
Hunters, logically, will aim for the largest and most ample deer they
encounter. This is not primarily for the "trophy" aspect,
although that is certainly a factor. Most hunters, especially bow
hunters, are meat hunters. What they don't use is, more often than
not, donated to homeless shelters to fill up the freezers.
Mother Nature, however, is not nearly as benevolent. Let us revisit
Ms. LaRusso's fictitious back yard for a more accurate and realistic
depiction of what would happen without proper game management:
"Look, Mommy, why is that baby deer and its sister walking so
funny through the yard, and why can I see their bones through their
fur?"
"That's because, honey, they're starving and there isn't enough
food for them in the woods. Unfortunately sweetie, its the smaller and
more vulnerable deer that are likely to suffer first.
"Do you think they can't find enough food because that deer that
Mr. Smith hit with his car the other day was their mommy?"
"No, honey, there are just too many deer and not enough food, so
they're weak and sick. They and their brothers and sisters and aunts
and uncles and cousins and all of the other deer are all sick and weak
from lack of nutrition that disease will probably wipe out most, if
not all of the deer in the next few years!"
"I'm going to miss them, Mommy!"
"Me too, honey, me too!"
The claim that sterilization is the answer is argued for and then
against in Ms. LaRusso's letter perfectly. Let's suppose that her
proposal of sterilization were to prove to be effective. Suddenly,
deer that had formerly sustained the herd were no longer producing an
annual crop of offspring. As is demonstrated throughout nature, the
largest and healthiest of the males often produce the ablest of
offspring, thereby guaranteeing the future of the herd. The deer,
obviously, will have no idea that they have been sterilized. So now
you have a herd with a wildly fluctuating population that is easily
infiltrated by wandering castoffs from other herds. This allows for
lesser bucks to successfully mate, with the result a more sickly and
more vulnerable herd. So much for Ms. LaRusso's population control
theories.
Hunters perform the role that natural predators once had. The only
real alternative to controlled game management hunts would be
reintroduction of bears and wolves to backcountry Greenwich. I promise
you that Ms. LaRusso's back yard scene would be very different then!
Before one takes so ardent a position on such a volatile issue, a
little common sense and research into the subject should be
undertaken. I am quite sure that the Audubon Society and the
Department of Environmental Protection did their research, compliments
of the Pittman-Robertson Act at the state level. Have Ms. LaRusso and
her fellow protesters done theirs?
Steve Silvi, Norwalk
(The writer works in Greenwich and is a former resident.)
By Vesna Jaksic, Staff
Writer, October 31, 2003
An Audubon Greenwich official announced yesterday
he will allow bowhunting of deer on the property, accepting the
recommendation of a recent report only hours after a group of area
residents picketed at the sanctuary to protest the idea.
"Audubon reviewed the report, including careful evaluation of the
alternatives available to Audubon to address the problem of overbrowsing
by deer, and accepted the recommendation," said Tom Baptist, vice
president and executive director of Audubon Connecticut, which includes
the local Audubon.
Starting Monday, 15 selected hunters from the Greenwich Sportsmen and
Landowner's Association will be allowed to hunt on the property from
dawn until 9:30 a.m. on weekdays through Jan. 31. Only four hunters will
be allowed at a time and hiking trails will be closed to the public from
9 to 9:30 a.m., Baptist said. All harvested meat will be donated to the
Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County, he said.
The $5,000 report, which was paid for by Audubon Greenwich and released
earlier this month, said other deer management methods such as fencing,
fertility control and sterilization, trapping and relocation are either
too expensive or too impractical. Bowhunting is the best method to
control the white-tailed deer population, which has increased so much in
recent years that the deer are damaging the forest ecosystem, plants and
wildlife, wrote the report's author, Kenichi Shono, a doctoral candidate
at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
A February 2001 aerial survey of the town by Howard Kilpatrick, a state
wildlife biologist, found that the deer population in Greenwich far
exceeded what the land could sustain.
Kilpatrick said areas with more than 20 deer per square mile are likely
to have serious ecological damage to habitat and the landscape. He said
most areas of central and backcountry Greenwich have more than double
that number, and some parts have triple -- about 60 deer per square
mile. Statewide, deer population per square mile ranges between 10 and
20.
The state DEP loosened bowhunting regulations in Fairfield County to
allow bowhunters to kill an unlimited amount of female deer at that time
to help control the deer population.
Twenty-one area residents, mostly members of animal rights groups,
showed up at the sanctuary yesterday afternoon, holding up signs such as
"They call it management, we call it murder," and "Save
your bucks. Audubon is shooting them." Some also held enlarged
pictures of deer with arrows sticking out of them.
The protesters said bowhunting is cruel and inefficient, and conflicts
with Audubon's mission to protect wildlife. They disagreed that the deer
population is as high as the report stated -- 45 to 60 on the 285-acre
sanctuary -- and that deer are as problematic as the report says they
are.
"They don't cause me any trouble," said Marie Brown, 85, who
lives on Dingletown Road, a rural and heavily wooded road off of North
Street. "It's a pleasure when I see them."
Leo Stawicki, 41, a custodian in Greenwich, said allowing bowhunting at
Audubon does not make sense.
"It's a wildlife sanctuary, and deer are wildlife," he said.
Told of Audubon's decision several hours after the protest ended,
Natalie Jarnstedt, 62, a town resident who coordinates Citizens for
Prohibition of Hunting in Greenwich, said she will try to reverse the
decision by informing town residents about bowhunting.
Baptist, who did not address the protesters yesterday, said there are
strong emotions on both sides of the issue, but pointed out that the
number of phone calls he has received from bowhunting supporters
outnumbered those of opponents 10-to-1. Bowhunting does not conflict
with Audubon Greenwich's mission, he said, which is to "motivate
people to conserve, restore and enjoy nature, focusing on birds, other
wildlife and their habitats, through education, land stewardship,
science and public policy advocacy," according to the
organization's Web site.
"The purpose of the hunting is to protect the biological diversity
of the sanctuary," Baptist said. "The population of deer here
is out of balance and consequently there has been serious degradation to
the sanctuary."
The report said that in the program's first two years, the deer
population should be reduced by 40 a year, bringing the total number of
deer at the sanctuary to about five to seven. After that, bowhunting
should be done as needed to keep an "ecologically sustainable deer
density of 10-15 per square mile." The center's main sanctuary is
0.47 square miles.
Residents who have questions about the bowhunting program may call Tom
Baptist at 869-5272.
