Video: Mentor Citizens Weigh In On Deer Issue
Several Mentor residents attended Tuesday's work session to offer their stories of deer-related woe
Several Mentor residents attended the City Council and administration's work session on deer Tuesday evening at City Hall.
All of them -- or, at least, all who spoke -- were in favor of thinning the herd.
Dave Bower said he has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep deer off his property and away from his gardens.
He has used fox and coyote urine, flashing lights, an air compressor and sound effects ranging from bombs to coyote howls to keep the deer away, he told Council.
Bower also said the overpopulation has caused them to act unusually. For example, they show no fear of humans.
"They're rats on hooves right now, because they're not acting like deer," he said.
Eric Lauridsen also spoke at the meeting. He told City Council that his property, which abuts Black Brook Golf Course, was often overrun with deer because he has a neighbor who feeds them.
"On Sunday, I saw 20 deer stretched from the golf course across my yard to where the lady feeds them," he said.
Meanwhile, Carole Clement thanked City Manager Kenneth Filipiak for his research and report on the deer population. She said she especially liked his suggestion that Mentor Police officers could be used as sharpshooters.
"It's very nice to not export jobs," she said.
Clement also said that, while deer culling may have its opponents, most Mentor residents supported the idea.
"We have a terrific problem here and it's going to take some serious, serious -- maybe even what some people would call drastic -- steps to solve it," she said. "And I would say to our administration, 'Be brave, be bold and believe that a sizeable portion of Mentor city people are behind you.'"
The administration said it would take some time to get approval from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to cull deer, if that is what Council decides to do.
However, Janet Pruzinsky -- a Mentor resident who lives in the fourth ward -- said she needed relief from the deer as soon as possible.
"Get it done," she said. "Get it started. Somehow, get it started."
Also from the work session Tuesday:
In This article
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Mentor City Hall
8500 Civic Center Blvd, Mentor, OH -
Black Brook Golf Course & Driving Range
8900 Lake Shore Blvd, Mentor, OH -
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Leocadia Sigl
8:49 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It seems that the majority of the speakers were OLD people.How would they like it if we got tired of them and destroyed them just because we felt they were annoying.They cause so many accidents from being on the road.The Geese population is so much worse than the deer.In my area, we all own acres and have deer in our yards every night and sometimes during the day. All you gotta do is spook them and they run, which I never do because they are Beautiful to me. If those people don't like them, then MOVE. Somebody will definitely buy their house and enjoy living in Mentor.This Fall a couple squirells pretty much destroyed our pumpkins, Oh well. The skunks dig numerous holes in our yards,oh well. The geese come in my yard sometimes in groups of 30 and them I hate. They ruin the lawn and constantly poop, which to me is a health hazard.Nobody has spoken up about them, cuz to destroy them would be wrong.Honestly I think killing the deer just because people are annoyed by them will set a terrible example to young children, no wonder there is Bullying.it's because of the examples the older gneration is showing.
I SAY,"MOVE IF YOU DON'T LIKE NATURE!! "LEAVE THE DEER ALONE!!
Anon Ymous
4:44 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Yes everyone, LEAVE THE DEER ALONE!! Let their numbers grow. Eventually after decimating the habitat and local wildlife, they will die a slow horrible death by starvation. Sound like a healthy and humane plan to me.
Shawn VanHuss
5:41 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
@ Leocadia
No one wants to destroy deer for the sake of destroying them. There are real ecological implications to thier overpopulation beyond not being able to keep a garden. Experts in Tuesday's meeting talked about bird and butterfly populations leaving because the undergrowth that supports them is virtualy destroyed. Coyote populations in Mentor are growing as well due to the small malnurished deer and accidents from animal strike in Mentor are at an all time high. The deer present more of a danger than just an annoyance. I agree that the goose poplulation is annoying and a concern, but the deer issues if left unchecked present a danger to the residents of Mentor and it's current wildlife populations.
Karl Hubrath
8:15 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I would like to make a comment please. I live in Mentor on the lake and I grew up in Eastlake. As long as I lived in Eastlake we never had any deer at my parents house. Now they are there all the time. My sister and I would visit my parents and when we would walk my sisters dog, of course unless we bring Morgan a 120 pound German Shepard, the deer want to attack my sisters dog. To me this says that they are over populated. I also remember seeing a coyote near my parents house at the railroad tracks, most likely from rail road track kill of the deer. I do not have answers but to me the deer are out of control. I really like the deer, would love to feed them all. I know of a lot of people who feed the deer, and guess what, that is where the problems are, just saying. To me why fly south if you get fed here, referring to the geese problem. God bless.