Many farmers in Alabama are losing money because of deer. According to one farming federation, the overpopulation of deer is leading to more crops being destroyed before they can be harvested.
The president of the Calhoun County Farmers Association, Doug Trantham, said hunters are part of the problem since many are only focused on catching prized bucks, leaving the does to eat many crops.
“Deer really love soybeans when we plant them and they come up. And they beginning to take a liking to cotton, I had one farmer tell me just a few days ago they eat nearly half of his strawberries,” Trantham said.
And experts say deer are more fearless than they have been in the past.
“With the deer-feeding going on nowadays, they’re almost domesticated. The deer are not afraid of human or human activities anymore,” Trantham said.
A number of ideas have been thrown around to try to solve the issue. Trantham said he thinks new hunting regulations may be the keys.
“The best idea I’ve heard is the hunters, since they just want to hunt trophy bucks, they need to have to be required to maybe kill at least three does before they can shoot a buck,” he said.
Trantham said the federation and other organizations have tried spraying the crops, but deer have gotten used to it. He said putting cutouts of people isn’t working either.
Source : WSFA
