Ridgefield Deer Committee Minority Report - The Ridgefield Deer Committee and the BOS denied the existence of a Minority Report that exposed in detail how the Deer Committee failed in executing their charge.  By the definitions in Roberts Rules of Order, Tenth Edition, it should be noted that a Minority Report was prepared by a member of the Ridgefield Deer Committee but a hastily-called meeting was held to dissolve the Deer Committee before the Minority Report was presented. Such attempts to stifle the report are not only illegal but reveal the bias and underhanded motives of certain people involved in this process.   

It must also be asked... what are they afraid of? 

Are they afraid of the truth that killing deer is not going to solve the alleged problems?  The Minority Report exposes the insufficiency, misrepresentation, and errors in the Committee Report.  The Minority Report documents that Ridgefield must obtain accurate, scientific facts and information before making any recommendations about deer, and deer management. For example:

• The biggest misconception perpetrated by the Committee is that deer are the primary carriers of infectious ticks.  Deer cannot pass Lyme disease on to anything or anyone.  And, there can be infectious ticks and Lyme disease present on your property even when you don’t have deer. Further, this Committee has used fear of Lyme disease to justify major deer culling (killing) in Ridgefield.  Deer hunting cannot and does not control, determine, or in any other way manage Lyme disease.  As documented in the Minority Report, white-footed mice are the primary carriers of Lyme disease. 

The Committee alleges that Dr. Kirby Stafford of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station said that if you reduce the deer population to eight deer per square mile, you can eliminate Lyme disease. This is not true. In a documented conversation with Dr. Stafford he stated:  “This is not my data.  This number was taken from Sam Telford, a researcher at Harvard, who contributed a chapter to ‘Ecology and Environmental Management of Lyme Disease’, edited by Howard Ginsberg, Rutgers 1993. This number is from the Great Island Deer Reduction Experiment.”   This is an important clarification because 1) Dr. Stafford does not take the position that reducing the deer population to eight deer per square mile eliminates Lyme disease, and 2) the Deer Island study was an experiment on a peninsula off Cape Cod, unlike the environment and geography of Ridgefield, among other distinguishing factors.

• As to biodiversity, there is no evidence and it is absurd to blame deer for alleged tree and wildflower conditions.  There is no valid or scientific data about biodiversity in Ridgefield.  The Minority Report
  demonstrates that there are many factors affecting trees and wildflowers, including disease, insect damage, drought, soil depletion, acid rain, climate changes, and road/home construction.
• The recommendation to allow “controlled” hunting in Ridgefield is a misnomer. There is no real way to control hunting on private and/or public property.  It is also reprehensible for the Committee to endorse the use of bait to kill deer, in any manner or guise.  The use of bait to attract and kill deer is a particularly evil act. Although currently legal in Fairfield County, baiting deer is considered by most non-hunters, and many hunters alike, to be completely unethical and a violation of fair chase standards.
• The Committee Report gives inconsequential acknowledgement about our responsibility as residents and individuals to do our part in living with deer, including the use of appropriate landscaping and gardening, driving carefully, checking for ticks, etc
  

• The Maxforce Tick Management System which eliminates nearly 80% of the ticks from mice who carry Lyme disease
• The 4-Poster Deer Treatment Bait Station developed by the USDA which reduces 92% to 98% of ticks from deer
• The Strieter-Lite warning reflector system which reduces nighttime deer/vehicle collisions by 78% to 90%
• Public education on Lyme disease prevention and safer driving in deer country

As scientists such as Dr. Oswald Schmitz of Yale University have explained, effective deer management requires a science-based understanding and approach.  The facts about the deer population and environment must be gathered before any decisions are made.  Although hunting is viewed by some people as the most expedient way to solve alleged deer problems, this is not true. Despite use of hunting as a management tool, hunting has proven to be inadequate at preventing deer from overpopulating areas.   

Ridgefield should follow the physician's creed of "FIRST DO NO HARM" in dealing with deer, and first use non-lethal methods that are certainly available and effective. To do otherwise is a cruel and barbaric eradication of life.

A science-based approach to managing, or coexisting with deer, also requires the support of the community. Ridgefield should support a science-based program led by Yale University. In working with Yale, residents have the opportunity to make Ridgefield a model community and set a precedent for not only Connecticut, but the entire U.S., for humane and effective deer management.