The borough says the animals are a danger to motorists as well as businesses and other property.
By: Linda Seida
NEW HOPE "Bambi, go home."
That’s what borough officials would say to the local deer population if they could.
The animals have been spotted frequently, and they’re not harmless tourists.
"They’re coming into the center of the borough and are a danger to motorists," Borough Manager John Burke said.
One of the most recent crashes ruined the car of Mayor Laurence Keller. His vehicle collided with a deer on Route 232, officials said.
Last year, a large deer made its way into a local grocery store. The animal broke a window, became confused and was shot and killed by a police officer before its actions could hurt anyone, according to council President Richard Hirschfield.
Since Bambi and her relatives aren’t getting the message, members of Borough Council last week sent a different sort of communication to the humans who feed and attract the deer. They outlawed the practice of putting salt licks out for the animals.
The ordinance passed by a vote of 6 to 1. Councilman Randy Flager was the lone dissenting vote. In favor of the ordinance were Mr. Hirschfield, Vice President Sharyn Keiser, Councilwoman Geri Delevich and councilmen Rey Velasco, Jake Fell and Ed Duffy.
"I support what they were doing," Mr. Flager said of his fellow council members’ efforts to halt the invasion of deer. "I just didn’t want to make it a crime."
And it is now a costly crime. Violators will pay a minimum fine of up to $100 for the first offense. The amount will double for subsequent offenses within a 12-month period, up to $1,000.
Mr. Flager, whose daughter and father each have been involved in car crashes that killed deer, said he’d rather see a program instituted to curb the deer population.
"We need to have a major campaign of either sterilization of the animals or capturing them and taking them to Elk County," he said. "New Hope is only 1 square mile. New Hope isn’t really the problem. The deer are everywhere. We’re surrounded."
Mr. Flager wouldn’t name the residents who feed the deer, but he said there are only "two or three people in town" who do it.
"They think they’re doing a nice thing, but it’s not a nice thing," Mr. Hirschfield said.
Feeding the deer encourages overpopulation in an area where there is not enough food to sustain the increased numbers, Mr. Hirschfield and Mr. Flager both said.
Although people might have good intentions, they’re not doing the animals any favors, according to Mr. Flager.
"The land cannot support the number of deer. You’re not helping them," he said. "They’re just causing the deer to starve in the wintertime. It’s a very cruel way to go."
State officials "think it’s a very bad idea to feed the deer," said Mr. Hirschfield. It would be better if the herd were thinned by natural means rather than "having someone do it," he said.
"I would ask, I would beg those people to stop feeding the deer," Mr. Flager said. "They’re doing them no favors. They should be left alone to live in nature."