Deer Herd At Valley Forge Thinned, Venison Sent To Pennsylvania Food Banks

March 28, 2011 2:00 PM

(Valley Forge Park. File photo by KYW’s John Ostapkovich)

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VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (CBS) - Officials at Valley Forge Park say the first year of a four-year plan to thin the deer population was successful — and the park’s actions also benefited hungry residents throughout Pennsylvania.

Using sharpshooters and capture-and-euthanasia, 600 deer were removed from the park between November and this month.

More than 18,000 pounds of venison was donated to soup kitchens, food pantries and other organizations through the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Three thousand pounds of meat went to Chester County.

Kristina Heister, the park’s natural resources manager, says the deer population has gone from about 200 to about 1,200 over the last two decades.

“The results of that level of browsing on the landscape has been pretty much the complete removal of the forest understory and the fact that we have not had any level of tree regeneration since 1995,” Heister told KYW Newsradio .

Over four years, Heister says, they hope to reduce the deer population from 241 per square mile to 35 per square mile. After that, they plan to use reproductive control.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060.

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Deer Herd At Valley Forge Thinned, Venison Sent To Pennsylvania Food Banks

Striker

Hey Harry when was the last time you had a steak or a chicken? Loser!
Striker

More bullets please!
Striker

Carol why don’t you just shut up?
Striker

Tiny deer tastle just like veal! YUM YUM.
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grumpy

We are the ones over populating, eating everything, and polluting the planet. Maybe we should consider thinning our herds.
JOE WILLE

why didn’t we trap these deer and relocate them to the wide open forrest areas ….It just seems that man has to control everything……

Mad Mike the Deer Hunter

Who will pay for the trapping and transportation to these wide open forrest areas?

chris

Carol,
did you read the article. Better yet do you know what deer do to plants? they eat all of them….So do you mean the answer is to let them reprodue over and over and over? They will soon eat all of your garden and kill off your plants. Better yet there will be so many of them that you will hae to dodge them on the highways. White tail deer are from from extinct. They are just controlling the herd. Get a clue. Because I don’t think you have one on this article.
Mad Mike the Deer Hunter

The idea of harvesting does while they are pregnant is what is designed. Since doe have 2 or 3 fawns each birth, thus taking 3 or more deer out of the herd lessining the population. As for accidents & careless drivers. Give me a break, I have talked to ADULTS that were paying attention while driving and still hit a deer!
Harry Seifert

Thinning a herd at this time of the year? How many pregnant does did you slaughter? Disgusting.

frankie

Harry, STFU….Are you the Father?

Carol

Yes, keep playing God you worthless pieces of humanity. Is there not a single more important issue than killing deer?

The reason crashes involving deer are rising is also because there are so many carless drivers who are busy texting and talking on the phone. The young inexperienced drivers have so many distractions that avoiding a deer is impossible. Loud radio, too many passengers, cell phones ringing, conversations (shouting matches) within the vehicle, etc. all combine for high probability of a crash.