Consideration of a contract for a white-tailed deer management utilizing sharpshooting. The Municipality desires to follow the controlled hunt archery program currently occurring with a sharpshooting program under a PA Game Commission political subdivision permit. This activity would occur from February 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018.
The Municipality received a proposal from White Buffalo, Inc., to provide deer management sharpshooting services. Under the contract up to 100 deer could be removed at a cost of $77,110.
Recommended Action: Move to authorize the execution of this agreement with White Buffalo, Inc., for the removal of up to 100 deer at a cost not to exceed $77,110, subject to the approval of the manager and the solicitor.Do we even have 100 deer? As in the past, we have no idea how many were killed by the archers, during Archery Season. Last year, the taxpayers paid Tony $9,000 to have "volunteers" kill 36 deer.
According to my blog posting from November 23, 2016 Tony, please return the commissioners' brains,
Recommended Action: Move to authorize the execution of this agreement with White Buffalo, Inc., for the removal of up to 100 deer at a cost not to exceed $83, 477, subject to the approval of the Manager and the Solicitor.
55 deer were killed last year by "sharpshooting," at a cost of $815.78 per deer.
Year
|
Deer Removed
|
Cost of Removal
|
2007
|
79
|
$19,900 (USDA)
|
2008
|
146
|
$50,837 (USDA)
|
2015
|
6
|
$3,000 (Wildlife Specialists)
|
2016
|
101
|
$15,460 (White Buffalo -Archery)
|
2016
|
114
|
$74,375 (White Buffalo –Sharpshooting)
|
2017
|
36
|
$9,000 (White Buffalo- Archery)
|
2017
|
55
|
$44,868 (White Buffalo -Sharpshooting)
|
Total
|
537
|
$217,440
|
Here is the breakdown by year:
2007 $288.41 per deer
2008 $348.20 per deer
2015 $500 per deer
2016 (archery) $147.24 per deer
2016 ("sharpshooting") $652.41 per deer
2017 (archery) $250 per deer
2017 ("sharpshooting") $815.78 per deer
Brumfield's legacy will be to approve another year of killing deer with high powered rifles in undisclosed areas of Mt. Lebanon. He once said that he will only vote for shooting deer when the deer carry rifles, to even the score. I wrote that
Both Steve Silverman and Craig Grella want to continue doing business with that scoundrel, and will vote along with John Bendel and Steve McLean to keep Tony DeNicola. Killing deer causes collisions to increase, but they will continue to bring in lethal weapons because deer are scary.Craig Grella didn't have to vote this year. Brumfield will get it passed. Parents, expect another CYA letter in January from Super Timmy and Keith McGill like this one sent last year. Bullets never cross sidewalks We'll hear how there hasn't been an accident. Will they only stop when there is?
To Hell with those with PTSD.
The commissioners don't just ignore PTSD, they create it.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, would prefer that annual sum be spent on an additional teacher at Lincoln. Yes, it's all connected. Parents, how much longer will you stand for this wasteful, hateful, and ineffective spending?
Jason, you want the municipality to fund another teacher in the school district? Pass whatever you're smoking, doctor.
ReplyDeleteHere you go, 7:43pm. Oh wait, it's just a vape.
ReplyDeleteI want the whole enterprise called MTL to stop wasting money and spend the people's money more wisely. If done well, schools and roads would be strengthened, sports frills and deer kills would come to an end, and who knows - the taxpayers might even get a refund making the place more middle-class friendly.
Just a few quick observations and questions: (Part 1)
ReplyDeleteWhy aren’t the commissioners putting this bait-and-shoot deer killing program out for competitive bid? Based on Elaine’s overview DeNicola is charging Mt. Lebanon taxpayers over twice the amount to kill a deer vs. earlier deer killing programs. Shouldn’t this be a competitive bid scenario? Why would a contract for $77,100 dollars be awarded with no competitive bid? Why should taxpayers pay twice the cost for the exact same killing service?
Why are the commissioners paying DeNicola $9,000 for a volunteer archery program, which is supposed to be legal hunting on private property?
What services does DeNicola provide for residents who are “legally” hunting on their property, and why are taxpayer’s dollars being used to support these residents? Many taxpayers oppose bow hunting in their community, and so why are their taxes being used to support private citizens hunting on their property?
If Mt. Lebanon is using taxpayer’s dollars to sponsor this bow hunting program for citizens on their private property, why don’t the commissioners know what properties are hunting, and why won’t they share this information with parents that are concerned for the safety of their children? They’re using their tax dollars to fund this program.
Few properties in Mt. Lebanon meet the safety zone regulations for legal hunting, and so DeNicola has to recruit residents to allow their property to be combined with other resident properties to meet the safety zone regulations. What authority is overseeing that these safety zone requirements are being legally met and signing off on them to protect the residents of Mt. Lebanon? If Mt. Lebanon is funding this program, why don’t they seem to have any interest in identifying these hunting locations, and confirming that they meet the legal safety zone regulations?
Why isn’t this $9,000 service contract being put out for competitive bid?
If it’s legal and volunteer hunting why is it necessary to pay anyone?
What are the science based facts that justify the taxpayer expenditures for another year of a bow hunting and a bait-and-shoot deer killing programs? I haven’t seen any facts presented. There’s been no survey requested to assess the deer population, and the effectiveness of these programs.
Why doesn’t the commission request the results of the bow hunting program before voting on the bait-and-shoot program? This is critical information that should go into the decision to spend $77,110 taxpayers dollars.
How do we know that DeNicola’s bait stations aren’t just attracking deer from the surrounding communities, and Mt. Lebanon taxpayers are just paying DeNicola to kill everyone else’s deer?
Elaine wrote, “We'll hear how there hasn't been an accident.” If I remember correctly, I believe the car-deer collisions report showed a major increase in car-deer accidents during the bow hunting and bait-and-shoot killing programs the last two years. Those accidents weren’t coincidental, but were a direct cause and effect from the hunting and culling programs. Studies show that hunting actually increases car-deer collisions. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, most car-deer collisions happen during hunting season. Erie Insurance collected data that showed a five-fold increase in car-deer collisions on the first day of hunting season, and that car-deer collisions remain high throughout hunting season. This is caused by hunters pushing deer out into the roads and panicked wounded deer running into the roads. In addition, once you kill the matriarch doe, whose job it is to safely cross her family, her orphan fawns will run into the roads without caution. So these increases in car-deer crashes during the bow hunting and culling programs were accidents caused by the Mt. Lebanon’s deer killing programs. So to say there have been no accidents is ignoring this fact. Mt. Lebanon should be liable for any damages, injuries, or deaths that are a direct cause of their deer killing programs.
Just a few quick observations and questions: (Part 2)
ReplyDeleteOne of the most disturbing features of these deer killing program for me is the suspension of the state regulated safety zones for rifle hunting, which allows DeNicola to use high powered rifles in residents yards who sign up for the deer killing program. The rifle typically used in these deer killing programs is the .223 caliber bolt-action rifle with 55-grain bullets (Wildlife Specialists used the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle). The maximum range of the .223/55-grain ammunition is 2.20 miles. So if there is a misfire, missed shot, or ricochet any residents within a 2.20 mile radius are in potential lethal danger. So Mt. Lebanon is allowing DeNicola to shoot high powered rifles in resident’s yards in densely populated neighborhoods which threatens the safety of all the families, children, and pets within a 2.20 mile radius surrounding this resident’s yard. The homes and families directly adjacent to this neighbor’s yard are on the front lines and at the highest risk. Mt. Lebanon doesn’t even require these residents to notify their neighbors that this shooting will be taking place, and Mt. Lebanon refuses to reveal these shooting locations to residents that request this information so that they can try to protect their family. IMO, this is absolutely insane and an accident waiting to happen. Remember, this is all about a handful of politically influential residents that hate the deer because they eat their tulips, and who refuse to plant deer resistant flowers.
So these commissioners have turned Mt. Lebanon’s neighborhoods and parks into a private hunting preserve and a dangerous shooting gallery that threatens the safety of all Mt. Lebanon families, destroyed the quality of life for a great many residents, created divisiveness within the community, and seriously damaged Mt. Lebanon’s reputation in the media. So what’s the plan moving forward? If these deer killing programs are supposed to be effective then when will they be over, or is the plan that they go on forever?
4:18 AM and 4:20 AM, all excellent questions and have been frequently asked; however, none are on the FAQ provided by the municipality here. http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/View/15202
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing the Final Report, dated 24 February 2017 , DeNicola writes:
The Commission will need to decide whether to emphasize added non-traditional lethal management
activities in very tightly developed areas or transition to sterilization in these areas of the community.
The concern with culling in more congested areas is that there will inevitably be more neighbor
conflicts because of the increased visibility of operations and locating parcels that will provide safe
and discreet shooting locations. In respect to surgical sterilization, it is not currently a deer
management option that is allowed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Mt. Lebanon was
recently denied approval for a deer sterilization research project. A new submittal would be
necessary with emphasis on maintaining, not reducing, the local population to the desired density.
The added advantage of fertility control methods is that bait leverage is not critical like sharpshooting
and can still be effective in less intense winter weather.
Non-traditional lethal methods are cruel. I can't even stomach blogging about it. It is still considered, "sharpshooting."
Elaine
As 4:20 AM pointed out, a PA Game Commission political subdivision permit suspends all state regulated safety zones for rifle hunting. Because we have "very tightly developed areas,", and if the commission has decided to add non-traditional lethal management,, there will be new areas introduced for those inhumane tactics. The PA Supreme Court doesn't believe we have the right to know where those areas will be. Read about Alternative Lethal Methods that DeNicola uses. It is horrendous.
ReplyDeleteElaine
ReplyDeleteWOMAN SHOT DEAD BY HUNTER WHO MISTOOK HER FOR A DEER
Nov., 24, 2007
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/woman-shot-dead-hunter-mistook-210454899.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=fb
CAPTURE AND BOLT KILLING OF DEER
ReplyDeleteEXPERT TESTIMONIALS
Jack Schrier, the NJ Fish & Game Council
The U.S. Veterinarians' Association has stated publicly that net-and-bolt is not appropriate for use in the field. If this loathsome slaughterhouse killing method is employed in any town, it will debase that town and its good people.
Allen T. Rutberg, Ph. D., School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
My personal opinion ... is that netting & bolting free range deer is at best difficult to carry out humanely and at worst is brutally cruel. Because the practice localizes responsibility for killing with specific property owners, it also stirs up personal animosity among members of the community. Again in my opinion, the potential for animal suffering and the elevated animosity generated by the practice outweighs any benefits that might be achieved by deer population reduction.
Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS, JD
[Trap and Bolt] This is a very inhumane way to rid yourselves of excess deer because of the extreme fright experienced by the deer and because the captured bolt does not effect a clean kill when the animal’s head is not immobilized. ... If a wounded deer escapes the netting, a resident of the town could be injured and the town held liable. Anyone watching this violent procedure or even knowing about it certainly would find it unpleasant and some may find it emotionally traumatic, especially children. Bait, net and attempt to kill is not a humane solution.
John W. Grandy, Ph.D. Senior Vice President of The Humane Society of the United States
The Humans Society of the United States (HSUS) is committed to preventing needless pain and suffering to all animals. It is cruel to attempt to euthanize a wild animal with a captive bolt gun because the animal will suffer needlessly and terribly. There is nothing remotely humane in this process.
Laura Simon, Wildlife Biologist, The Humane Society of the United States
HSUS Letter to Mt. Lebanon Commission Opposing Clover Trap and Kill, 11/6/2012
I am writing to object strongly to your town’s plan to use trapping and the captive bolt as a management tool for white-tailed deer. The HSUS is committed to preventing suffering in all animals. We firmly believe that it is impossible to ensure that this technology is used correctly and consistently enough in the field to provide a humane death to deer. Captive bolt guns are designed for use on restrained domestic animals in highly structured and controlled environments. Even there, the "humaneness" of these devices has been called into question. These guns were not designed for use on wild animals under any circumstances, and certainly not as a management tool for white-tailed deer.
Clover Trap Capture and Bolt Killing of Deer
After the deer are trapped in a clover trap a hired contractor collapses the trap on the deer and attempts to steady the deer while another contractor fires the bolt gun -- a 4 inch retractable steel rod -- into her skull. Since the deer are inadequately restrained and are strong and heavy, they frequently manage to move. The bolt-gun is then misfired into their eye, jaw, ear or nose. The contractor must reload the bolt gun before trying again. Death from the bolt-gun is often not immediate, adding more prolonged suffering to already terrified animals.
The Reality of Net and Bolt Killing of Deer
www.youtube.com/watch?v=neOr8F8c6as
An explosive charge propels nets over a group of deer, tossing them in the air and ensnaring them. They thrash around, crying out in fear and panic as they are shot in the head with metal bolts. (Undercover footage by SHARK)
The above Net and Bolt youtube video was a S.H.A.R.K undercover investigation to expose animal cruelty. You can see the original video, background info. and veterinarian testimonies who viewed these videos regarding animal cruelty at the S.H.A.R.K. URL link below. We urge you to review the veterinarian testimonies.
Net and Bolt
http://www.sharkonline.org/index.php/deer-rocket-netting
I thought you would be interested in this story I found on MSN: He thought he saw a deer and fired his pistol. Now, his neighbor is dead. http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BBFBGqr?ocid=se
ReplyDelete8:49, is there any plan for "CAPTURE AND BOLT?" I think you wasted some copy pasta.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, year three, stare decisis.
lol... let me join in the fun and scour the internet for another anecdotal story of a hunter shooting a person. Ever hear of VP Cheney? The different in Lebo is, we have trained hunters, and those people are untrained gun wielding hicks.
ReplyDeleteI am not an attorney like you are, 7:03 AM. What does "stare decisis" mean? Or is that just copypasta?
ReplyDeleteElaine
8:59 AM
ReplyDelete"According to the International Hunter Education Association, approximately 1,000 people in the US and Canada are accidentally shot by hunters every year."
I feel so much safer now that you informed us that these are only scoured anecdotal stories about hick hunters, and that "we have trained hunters". BTW, who are these hunters and shooters, and where were they trained at?
I'm sure we have trained bullets too, so if there's a missed shot, ricochet, or accidental shot, the bullet will cease and desist.
Maybe if residents like you would go to a deer proofing seminar and get trained on how to plant deer resistant flowers and be willing to plant them, we could get rid of men shooting lethal weapons in our neighborhoods and parks.
8:59 AM
ReplyDelete"lol... let me join in the fun"
You think this woman being shot is fun and funny? BTW, I didn't have to scour the internet, i.e. it was front page news in the Washington Post.
What a jerk!
8:59 AM, if you would have looked at 8:49 PM's links, you would see that sharkonline writes about OUR trained hunters. Tony DeNicola uses net and bolt, 7:03 AM. And it is Year Three with Tony DeNicola, but this isn't the third year of killing deer.
ReplyDeleteHow long is this going to continue? I saw a deer a month ago, but wait, that is anecdotal. Isn't this whole deer killing anecdotal? Aren't the deer "incidents" anecdotal? Do we have any aerial surveys? How many deer are in Mt. Lebanon? Where is the data? More Frequently Unanswered Questions. We get FUQ'ed every year.
There were incidents in Castle Shannon last year, but Susan Morgans wouldn't let CS residents speak at a commission meeting because they weren't Mt. Lebanon taxpayers. I wrote to the commissioners last year and asked them to contact Castle Shannon Police, but that is like getting Craig Grella's disposition published.
Elaine
How long is this going to continue?
ReplyDeleteIndefinitely. Election after election has shown it's the will of the people of Mt. Lebanon.
Do we have any aerial surveys?...Where is the data?
Oh! Oh! I remember two aerial surveys. The first one was high so you tried to convince your readership that pets were accidentally counted as deer. The second one you loved because it showed a low count. Stop pretending that you care about data; you voted for Trump.
[G]etting Craig Grella's disposition published
Disposition
2:52 PM, Disposition is a legal term, meaning a court's final determination of the case.
ReplyDeleteIndefinitely is a long time.
Elaine
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/11/26/deer-overpopulation-pittsburgh-riverview-park-wildlife-conservation/stories/201711260071
ReplyDelete“Deer fights are going on in literally hundreds of communities,” he said, in a recent interview. “It’s always the same. These fights can go on for five or 10 years sometimes. Once they make the decision for stewardship, opposition drops and the whole town moves on to the next big issue.”
Hopefully, it’s time for us to move on.
For some reason, I cannot access PG articles, but I was able to see that your link, 7:53 AM, is to yet another offensive article from John Hayes.
ReplyDelete"Move on" is asking those with PTSD, to move on.
"Move on" is asking those who have concerns about safety, to move on.
"Move on" is asking those who feel that this is a waste of money, to move on.
"Move on" is asking those whose religious beliefs are against killing, to move on.
"Move on" is asking those who feel it is morally wrong, to move on.
It may be time for YOU to move on, but there are plenty of us who disagree.
Elaine
Your not missing anything Elaine. Hayes is not a news reporter. He is the Outdoors Editor. He is biased and never objective. He is the mouth piece for the Game Commission.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHayes was also the mouthpiece for Mt. Lebanon's PR dept. He published articles on most of Mt. Lebanon's Commission meetings in support of deer hunting/culling, but no one ever saw him attend these meetings. How did that work?
This showed up as a FB memory from two years ago. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2015/11/26/Mt-Lebanon-weighs-response-to-right-to-know-response-to-deer-hunt/stories/201511260045
ReplyDeleteState orders Mt. Lebanon to provide locations of deer hunt
Mt. Lebanon officials are weighing their response to an order to comply with a Right-to-Know request for records pertaining to a controversial deer…
POST-GAZETTE.COM
The heartless commissioners knew why I wanted to know.
Elaine
Tonight, the commission majority authorized another two months of "sharpshooting."
ReplyDeleteElaine