posted May 17, 2008 02:56 PM         

Thank you to WildCare members and friends who helped make this happen!

Dear .....,

On May 15, 2007 Speaker Pelosi, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and Representatives Woolsey, Eschoo and Miller called upon National Parks Superintendant Neubacher to stop the mass killings of the Axis and Fallow Deer at the Point Reyes National Seashore. We are grateful for their leadership and support.

The call for the cessation of the shooting comes after these leaders were presented with a package containing over 2,000 WildCare petitions, countless letters and articles, and a Humane Society of the United States White Paper that questions the effectiveness of the NPS extermination policy and proposes the use of a contraception program to stabilize the deer population. The paper, entitled Strategies to Manage Axis and Fallow Deer at Pt. Reyes National Seashore and Environs, Including a Proposal to Designate Such Deer a Cultural and Historic Resource at PRNS outlines the scientific support for a program that would provide humane, non-lethal and non-invasive contraception to the deer if further population management is required. Currently, there are only 150 remaining Fallow and Axis Deer-- 80 of which have already been contracepted.

During the coming months, legislation, authored in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States, will be introduced to designate the deer species a "cultural and historic resource," requiring the Park Service to manage rather than exterminate the deer. This approach has been successful in the cases of other introduced species in National Parks such as the wild horses of Assateague Island National Seashore and requires that populations of protected animals be strictly managed, including scientific assessment of population levels to minimize or prevent damage to native species within the Park. We will keep you posted!

Thank You!

WildCare is proud to be a part of the team of dedicated organizations and individuals who worked tirelessly to make this happen.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all WildCare supporters-- this is your victory.

posted May 17, 2008 11:37 PM         

It's horrible what happened to these deer.