To the editor: In the name of preventing tree-canopy loss, a campaign in Arlington to kill deer is speeding ahead.
Protecting canopy is a critical concern, but it’s unhelpful to scapegoat deer as a major cause of tree loss. The real work of protecting tree canopy lies in preventing unneeded destruction of mature trees, maintaining/pruning trees, ensuring strong urban forestry, enforcing ordinances and taking other relevant steps.
This costly, rushed deer-slaying campaign contrasts with the county’s slow-moving campaigns that focus attention on tree protection, preservation and maintenance.
What’s wrong with this picture? Why so much money, energy and PR to promote killing deer? The Animal Welfare League of Arlington noted that collective data do not show a need for an immediate 40-percent reduction in deer. A minimum of 158 deer (54.5% of the population) have been statistically removed since 2021.
Literature on controlling deer populations underscores how hard it is to effectively manage deer. In some communities, deer contraception and sterilization have helped wind down deer populations. Long-term sterilization methods do take time, patience and a significant initial investment, but can ultimately produce positive results.
In Arlington, it remains unclear whether staff accurately identified the problem or closely examined lessons learned elsewhere, including the successes of a mix of nonlethal approaches. (Calling death by sharpshooting “painless,” per a county deer management video, trivializes the real suffering deer experience from being shot.)
When I mentioned that shooting deer in public parks was being considered, my neighbors, who recently moved from New York City, were stunned. They had thought Arlington was progressive and believed that sharpshooting of animals was something confined to “red” areas.
It’s time to slow down, clearly define the problem (and goals), and re-examine nonlethal methods to manage deer. A more humane way forward sounds more like Arlington. In the name of preventing tree-canopy loss, a campaign in Arlington to kill deer is speeding ahead.
Kit Norland, Arlington
