The deer population has been booming in recent years, causing an increase in car accidents with wildlife and major decreases in crop yield for farms. As the deer population continues to exceed their capacity in nature, more are dying painful deaths from starvation and car accidents.

The growing population is also causing difficulties for humans as crops are eaten by deer. In addition, many people report having their trees, plants, bushes and gardens being destroyed by deer. I know personally, our small trees have to be surrounded by a cage to prevent deer from eating them. Our arborvitaes have been destroyed by the deer.

The issue is something most, if not all Pennsylvanians have endured first-hand. Many other issues have taken precedence over this, but it cannot be ignored much longer. The deer are here and they are not going to stop growing until intervention is taken. The rhetorical situation this issue surrounds is that we all have seen a deer on the side of the road after being struck by a car. Many of us have plants and gardens destroyed by hungry deer in search for any food source.

I believe the cause of this issue is inadvertent. There is a mindset that female deer should not be hunted because they are sacred. People will buy doe permits and burn them preventing others from obtaining the permits. This inadvertently leads to the growth in the deer population. In addition, laws preventing overhunting are extreme that the population is still growing.

In relatively populated cities and suburbs, the predators of deer including bobcats, coyotes and wolves were extinct by humans to eliminate that threat several years ago. Inadvertently, the massive decrease in these populations significantly decreased the predators of deer. Now the deer population is booming and is unchecked by predators.

The policy focus will be on system changes through new laws for hunting and possible other solutions to decreasing deer population. This could include making deer infertile or having a large hunt to decrease the population significantly. The issue brief will also include a small factor of capacity builders to educate people on why action needs to be taken. Many people are avidly against hunting, so it is going to take a lot of persuasion to institute any new laws.

It is also important to note that the mass removal of a population can drastically impact a ecosystem. This was seen when the entire wolf population was exterminated in Yellowstone National Park. The ecosystem saw a devastating reaction which is something to keep in mind during policymaking for the deer population in Pennsylvania.

https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/local/20100327_Experts__Pa__s_deer_population_is_out_of_control.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/life/outdoors/2013/11/24/Wildlife-Besides-hunters-deer-have-few-predators/stories/201311240060

https://campingfunzone.com/2019/09/24/why-were-all-the-yellowstone-wolves-exterminated/