So, let me get this straight...... deer eat plants and are nuisances in areas that probably used to be their habitat until humans encroached upon it. Deer are also blamed for the high cost of vehicle insurance in cars as they leap out of embankments in their search for food. Residents are forced to pay high costs to replace fruit trees, shrubs and to build deer proof fences. Why does society always look at things from its perspective? Try viewing things from our wild neighbours' point of view. Homeowners/developers have taken away their habitats, destroyed their original food sources, and basically refuse them their right to live. Regarding the predators on the island, our bears are being poached and hunted (Recently, three bear carcasses were found near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island with their gall bladders and paws removed and conservation officers fear the mutilated bodies are the tip of the iceberg.) Judith Lavoie, CanWest News Service, Published: Monday, July 23, 2007), ditto cougars and wolves. Returning salmon stocks are in extremely low numbers, so major predators like bears who depend on this food source probably won't be around in the near future. Looks to me like the hand of man has been hard at work destroying the balance of nature as he is so wont to do. Pollute the oceans, streams, rivers, etc., pave over beautiful lands for our better driving purposes (Bear Mountain travesty comes to mind immediately!), build houses in areas that wildlife frequent and then kill them for being so close to “civilization” when they come looking for food. With all the building and development happening on this small island, it won't be long until there are only wall to wall people so your fears about high vehicle insurance, deer fences etc. will become only a dim memory of annoyances that were. As for butchering in basements? You may be opening up a whole new can of worms regarding new noise bylaws. Most animals about to be slaughtered for food do not die a quiet death. The question begs to be asked, "Who really are the destructive pests on this planet?"

S. Raftery

Saanichton, BC