The truck would be optimized to be able to surprise deer, kill them quickly and transport the harvest. I think we would want a quiet, nimble, fast truck with very bright lights. The drivers would be skillful in the use of the truck and very familiar with the road then being patrolled. Reference to past reports of vehicle hits with deer combined with almanac data (for phase of moon) would serve to predict time and dates most suitable for patrol in an area. The vehicle and use techniques could be devised to be relatively benign to non-target animals such as racoon, bear, etc..

There are far too many deer in my area. A motorcyclist and his female companion were killed after striking a deer a short walk from where I live.
-- hangingchad, Nov 25 2004

Too Many Deer http://www.freerepu...s/news/802861/posts
Posts about the too many deer problem [hangingchad, Nov 26 2004]

I can see the protests now.....[ kill them humanely ] and [ relatively benign to non-target animals ] is going to be challenging to accomplish.

Do they allow hunting in your area? I've never hunted with firearms, but it seems popular in some quarters.

This would be a vehicle you'd want to wash on a regular basis.
-- normzone, Nov 25 2004


Eeew, no! You wash it!
-- jutta, Nov 25 2004


<experienced> Yeah, ground deer really isn't something you want in your tires. </experienced>
-- ghillie, Nov 25 2004


Whilst I concede that deer are a hazard for motorists (and the last I heard in Scandinavia was that you had less than a 30% chance of surviving when hiting an elk ina motor car), I don't feel the need to eradicate them in the manner that you suggest.
-- gnomethang, Nov 25 2004


I think hanging is too good for chad !
-- python, Nov 25 2004


Deer thrive in the suburbs. Hunting is not allowed and there are still plenty of woods between housing developments. If this measure could reduce the number of car hits with deer I would think it would be a success. Right now hits are on the ascent in most places. To continue to basically do nothing about this problem is foolish.
-- hangingchad, Nov 26 2004


// The vehicle and use techniques could be devised to be relatively benign to non-target animals such as racoon, bear, etc.. //

I would imagine (or hope) that on hitting a good-sized bear, it would be the driver that would come off worse.
-- pottedstu, Nov 26 2004


[pottedstu] The biggest protection for bear, racoon etc. would be that the truck has an alert driver, brakes, good lights and is maneuverable. Critters on the road would be in far more danger from the average suburbanite who is probably yakking on a cell phone and overdriving his lights. PS I added a link about the deer problem
-- hangingchad, Nov 26 2004


I remain to be convinced that the best way to facilitate a drop in deer numbers is to fund pinprick-pupiled benzedrine addicts haring about the suburbs trying to hit any moving object that isn't on two legs.

In the Highlands, deer populations are controlled by hunting and, more tastily, by poachers who'll turn up at your door, bloodsoaked and grinning, in the pissing rain, straining to cradle a stag's leg in their arms, because there isn't any room left in their freezer.
-- calum, Nov 26 2004


In Sweden yesterday, a hunter shot someone’s pet pig (“He was like a family member”) thinking it was a warthog and gutted it leaving only its entrails by their door.
-- FarmerJohn, Nov 26 2004


A couple of years ago I had a three day argument about the number of 'wild' animals in Europe with an American I met in Russia. His point of view was that Europe is ecologically completely unstable due to the lack of wild animals (Especially predators). While I would not condone his ideas on redressing the balance, the issues he raised are relevant now.

This idea is ridiculous. OK, there may be too many deaths due to driving into large animals on the road. But surely education of drivers to drive appropriately in the conditions is the best first step. I am tempted to go off on one about what to to if there is an Elk in the road in-front of you, but surely anyone driving in an area where large animals in the road is a problem should be aware of how to deal with the problem.

Knowledge of stopping distance is key. Better to arrive late than to arrive dead.

This idea demands a blanket animal extermination to allow drivers to drive faster. To compare, would you condone an extermination of people in suburbs because they may wander in-front of traffic.
-- afrocelt, Nov 26 2004


[calum] <I remain to be convinced that the best way to facilitate a drop in deer numbers is to fund --- haring about the suburbs trying to hit any moving object that isn't on two legs.> I agree with you. I think the best way to drop deer numbers is to have marksmen shoot them with a high-powered rifle from a high stand. This seems to be politically impossible in most US suburbs. My thought was that doing for a purpose and with little wastage, that which now takes place accidentally, with much wastage, would have a logical appeal. One aspect of my proposal is that to allow shooting or birth control measures etc. would likely involve changes to county or state law or policy whereas use of the Deer Cull Truck could possibly be considered as a part of road maintenance, i.e., hazard removal.
-- hangingchad, Nov 26 2004



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