BREWSTER – Brewster resident Gary Kaser and others proposed to the Conservation Commission recently that more town land be opened up for the use of bow hunting.
However, other residents brought up concerns over safety for those who want to use the town land as well.
“I’ve lived in the same place for 57 years and I’ve never seen as many deer as we have around now,” said Kaser.
Kaser cited 155 deer hit by cars in Brewster over the past 3 years as evidence of their overabundance in the area.
“I have a small farm and I’ve seen as many as ten deer. They’ve been wiping out a lot of the stuff that I’ve been growing.”
The specific land in question is the Punkhorn Parklands, bought by the Town of Brewster several decades ago which then put restrictions on hunting in the area.
Kaser and David Stainbrook, a deer and moose biologist with the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife argued that the deer population is beginning to become too much for the local environment to support, and that intervention now would alleviate problems later.
He and other hunters that support him say bow hunting is a safer alternative to hunting with firearms in the area, as the ranges are shorter and most—if not all—shots are taken from elevated chairs in the trees so missed arrows land in the ground rather than flying wide.
Other residents still raised concerns over the prospect, worrying that their lives and the lives of their pets may be in danger every time they go for a walk in Punkorn Parklands.
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