Threat of Axis Deer on the Big Island

[seventhreads]

i lived in rural maui for a year and never once saw a deer...maybe i was on the wrong side of the island?

you know, so much stuff gets hyped up and blown way out of proportion on this forum. invasive species? really? what exactly does "invasive species" mean to you? without a doubt the most invasive, destructive species on this planet is the modern human. what nerve to classify another animal as invasive and bad for the environment. deer do not dump 50k gallons of molasses in the ocean, or pollute the environment in any way. and they also don't genetically alter food crops.

i also lived in the california mountains for years. yes there are a lot of deer. yes they will eat your vegetables. but they are also beautiful and i loved having them around even though it meant fencing my garden off. not a big deal. you adapt. i must say i had more respect for deer before moving to the mountains. now i know they are kind of dumb and aloof. but it's endearing, not a reason to kill them.

i understand that people want to keep all "invasive" species off of hawaii to save the ecosystem. but the truth is the current ecosystem is nothing like what it once was. europeans and asians brought thousands of new species of plants and other life here, as did the hawaiians when they first came. it is constantly changing. most places on earth are. nature will balance itself. if you are really that concerned about it, how about eradicating humans? there is no other species having even a miniscule fraction of the effect on the ecosystem here as humans are. no one can deny that.

leave the deer alone.


snakes on the other hand.....