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Deer Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Question:Why is Binghamton University planning to conduct a deer
cull?
Answer:Deer overpopulation in the Universitys Nature Preserve
over the past 40 years has had adevastating effect on forest
regeneration. Wildflowers and forest understory shrubs have
disappeared,
and the resulting reduction of food and habitat has adversely
affected all other animals in the forest
community. Low-nesting and ground-nesting birds, for example,
have stopped reproducing in our
forests. Because the deer have no natural predators in the
Nature Preserve, and because hunting is not
allowed, the deer population is currently five times larger than
research shows it should be. The goal
is NOT to eliminate deer completely, but to reduce the
population to a level at which the forest can
begin to recover. We want deer to remain an integral component
of a healthy, ecologically balancedenvironment in our natural
areas.
Question:Would deer translocation, birth control and hunting be
viable alternatives to
culling?Answer: We have researched each of these options
thoroughly:
Translocation: Survival rates of translocated deer are low (due
to capture, transport and new location
stress). Translocation involves a much higher cost and effort
for essentially the same mortality
outcome. In addition, this method is effectively prohibited in
New York state because of spreading
diseases. And most other areas in the state are already at or
above capacity.
Birth Control: Birth control has been in the experimental stages
for decades and has shown no
practical effectiveness in managing wild, free-ranging deer
populations. The drugs and chemicals
involved are prohibitively expensive, even for partial
population reduction, and they are not approved
by the FDA. Fertility control is effective in isolated, confined
and island populations OR when
combined with lethal methods. It would not reduce our deer
population enough or in time to allow
forest regeneration.
Hunting Season: Safety is the number one reason against this
option. Because it would be hard to
control hunter expertise and hunter access, it would be
difficult to ensure the safety of students and
visitors. Further, it is unlikely that the deer population would
be reduced sufficiently during the
hunting season.
Question:Is culling safe?Answer: Yes. Culling will be done
quickly and in locations at more than the legal distance from
campus and neighboring residences. Access to culling sites will
be carefully controlled and policed,
and will be conducted during times of least visitation to our
natural areas and when the fewest
students are on campus. In addition, low-caliber firearms are
used.
Question:What happens to culled deer?
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Answer: The meat is donated to charity.
Question: How many will be killed?
Answer: We know there are 60-70 deer per square mile on campus.
In order to even begin the forest
recovery process, deer need to be reduced to 8-10 per square
mile.
Question: Wont the deer population increase again?Answer: Yes.
The population is, and will continue to be, monitored. Deer
behavior and lack of good-
quality food sources will slow down their rate of population
increase. We also expect that the
behavior of incoming deer will slow down the damage done to the
forest. Culling gives the forest
time to begin recovery; we will re-evaluate management options
when necessary.
Question: What qualifications do we have for recommending
management of deer?
Answer: Those who have made the initial recommendation are all
biologists who take care of the
natural areas and the Nature Preserve on campus. Both on-campus
and external research data on the
effects of deer on forest ecosystems as well as research on
management options support the decision.Our steward of natural
areas on campus, who is also a wildlife biologist, and other
on-campus
scientists have monitored the deer population and observed their
effect for more than 10 years and
30+ years, respectively.
