New York drivers hit fewer deer last year: study
Action Alerts From Animal Defenders of Westchester (ADOW)

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New York drivers hit fewer deer last year: study

From: Animal Defenders of Westchester (ADOW)
September 21, 2016

What could have been a helpful article citing AAA advice that has reduced such incidents (reducing speed, scanning the roads, etc) instead becomes the usual pro-hunting trash from Lohud - ending with a truly vile quote from Mamk mayor rosenblum, whose decency and compassion for animals only extends to those in cages.

Please read the article below and add comments (250 words or less) to letters to the editor: [email protected]

Also drop polite notes to the reporter and the mayor regarding their hateful, pro-hunting stance: The fact is there's a serious and/or fatal accident WEEKLY - never involving animals, but due to bad driving.

Mayor - Norm Rosenblum - [email protected]
Reporter Matt Coyne - [email protected] 

New York drivers hit fewer deer last year: study
By Matt Coyne, [email protected]
September 21, 2016

Despite deer overpopulation, New York drivers hit fewer deer last year.
According to a study from insurance giant State Farm, one in every 161 New Yorkers hit a deer between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016, putting New York near the middle of the pack when it comes to deer collisions, which usually jump in the last quarter of the year.

That number is 4.3 percent lower than last year and below the national average of one in every 169 drivers. New York ranked 30th of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

The study took into account claims data from State Farm, plus licensed driver counts from the federal government and projected it for the entire insurance industry. It also arrives at the start of deer mating season, when love-struck bucks and their potential mates are on the move.

“Drivers should be engaged, alert and on the lookout at all times, because you never know when you may need to react to a deer or any other obstacle that may suddenly be in your path,” Chris Mullen, State Farm director of technology research, said in a statement.

According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, there will be "a few more" deer this fall. They are considered overpopulated in Westchester County and most of Rockland County, posing issues for both the environment and drivers.

The issue has pushed local governments to try and come up with a solution, keeping in mind the region's dense population.

Westchester County allows limited bow hunting in some county-run parks, a measure Rockland County considered, but did not implement. Rye and Mamaroneck village asked the county to open bow hunting at the Marshlands Conservatory in Rye, but the county rejected the request.

Hastings-on-Hudson, meanwhile, has been sterilizing does with a vaccine that renders them infertile for at least two years.

Mamaroneck village Mayor Norman Rosenblum — who once called deer "a clear and present danger to drivers" — said a presentation at a New York Conference of Mayors meeting last week in Saratoga Springs estimated there were 800,000 deer in New York state.

“This is a very developed area. In other words, no big lots," Rosenblum said.

"They’re there. And it is a danger.”

Asked about State Farm's statistics, Rosenblum said people may just not be reporting all of the deer strikes in the way they used to.

“Deer are very smart in the ability to get around. They can literally swim miles. They go along the rivers, they go along the railroad tracks. There is no street that you’re safe from," Rosenblum said. “And they just walk right across the street. They’ll stop and look at you like, 'Who the hell are you?'"

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