I agree with Gladys Kusmack (Penticton Western News, Encroaching into wildlife space, June 29) to use caution and be alert while in wooded areas, second nature to a former Prince George and Vanderhoof resident. However, I sense assumptions are being made and need correcting.
Dictionary definition of wooded areas: “covered with trees or woods,” and “an area of land covered with woods or many trees.” Some residents may see Penticton as a “wooded area.”
Facts: Bucky and I were not in a wooded area when he was attacked. We were walking on a concrete city street one block from a restaurant, school, main road, RCMP. The original article did not mention that seven hours after the deer attack at 8 a.m., we were charged by a different deer while walking down an alley even closer to the detachment. Three different deer at three different locations in the city at three different times of the day. People are feeding deer, leaving apples and cat food on sidewalks/KVR trail, creating deer havens in the city — so why would they leave?
Related: Penticton woman and dog chased by aggressive deer
Let’s put the responsibility of aggressive deer conflicts where it belongs — on the province since they “own” the deer and the City of Penticton. Signs indicating aggressive deer May to July and signs for rutting bucks in the fall is a start. Then RDOS can put on (FOC) aggressive deer self-defence courses for residents and visitors since simply walking down a Penticton city street is as dangerous as walking in a wooded area.
Who reimburses residents for damages to their landscapes? Who pays the driver for damages/deductible, who couldn’t stop in time when the deer came bouncing out of nowhere onto the city road? When a dog poops on public property and it’s not cleaned up by the guardian, people are outraged. When a deer poops on private or public, who cleans it up? Residents. Do research: deer have the E.coli bacteria in their digestive system. SFGate website: “Deer are infected with a chronic wasting disease of the brain, similar to mad cow disease, that can be transmitted to people through contact with manure.” Do not use deer manure for your vegetable garden.
And to the man who walked past Bucky and I yelling that I want to see the deer killed and it was my fault as my dog was probably off-leash attacking the deer — your assumptions are of ignorance.
Susan O’Fallon
Penticton
