Resources
Suburban and urban residents who want to prevent the use of lethal measures to resolve white-tailed deer conflicts in their community may access the following science-based position statements + resources from the Humane Society:
Local governments should establish a comprehensive traffic safety plan for the reduction of deer related crashes by using applicable “Local Road Safety Plan” and “Community- Based Deer Management” concepts, and by primarily deploying nonlethal measures to reduce deer vehicle crashes before the use of the lethal reduction of a deer population.
Local government should not propose the publicly divisive use of firearm sharpshooters to cull deer to reduce deer vehicle crashes (DVCs) without using a community-based deer management process, predetermining local deer density, reviewing the long-term high cost, using effective nonlethal measures first, and having a sound scientific and factual basis.
Local governments should recommend nonlethal methods to their residents to help them prevent an infection of Lyme disease as a result of a tick bite and not implement lethal measures to reduce the community’s deer population because there is no scientific consensus that killing deer will effectively decrease the incidence of Lyme disease.
Local governments should only promote effective nonlethal measures to their residents to prevent deer browsing garden damage and not implement or allow lethal measures to reduce a deer population in the absence of research studies which use scientific methodology that prove killing deer will effectively reduce residential garden damage.
Local government should only recommend effective nonlethal measures to an homeowners association (HOA) to reduce deer conflicts with its residents but not the lethal reduction of deer in the HOA’s subdivision, because there is no scientific basis that killing deer within a subdivision’s limited geographic area will effectively decrease such conflicts.
This toolkit is designed to empower advocates like you to take action, be it against planned lethal measures, or proactively encouraging the adoption of a humane deer management plan. It’s often thought that the voice of a large, national organization is enough, but a groundswell of local opposition to a deer cull, or in support of a humane deer management plan, in fact has the greatest impact.
This deer conflict management and coexistence plan has been prepared by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for use by communities in humanely and effectively preventing and solving conflicts with white-tailed deer. We invite you to use this plan as your own or modify it as necessary to suit the needs of your community.
