Tag Archives: animal rights

Beyond the Bow & Bullets: Finding Humane Solutions for Deer in a Shared World

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The Tragedy of Unnecessary Violence

The violence inflicted upon deer never fails to shock me. I am left wondering not only why we resort to such cruel measures, but how these actions continue to garner widespread support. I was a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, for decades, and during that time I found great compassion for the plight of the deer.

As housing developments, traffic, highways, and human overpopulation exploded, the deer were increasingly blamed for everything. My view always focused on what we were doing to cause deer to suffer.

The use of bow hunting in densely populated suburban areas raises serious ethical and safety questions. When non-lethal methods are available, why do we choose a method that carries a high risk of wounding and prolonged suffering, simply to avoid sharing our landscape and yards?

The inhumane challenges facing deer are in clear display upon reading two tragic stories on a Montgomery County neighborhood website. Something as simple as leaving sports netting, or other nets up, can have fatal consequences for wildlife.

In one instance, a deer became tangled in a net used for sports. Instead of finding a humane solution to freeing the deer, police shot the deer several times. There was no mention of the deer having serious injuries, meaning the option of sedation and untangling was likely viable. The second serious concern is that several bullets result in a painful, slow death. The humane standard for severely injured wildlife requires rapid, painless chemical euthanasia administered by a trained professional, not the dangerous and often prolonged use of multiple police rounds. This failure of protocol speaks volumes about our current priorities.

The Failure to Rescue

I then read about another shocking deer story that occurred in that same neighborhood.  A fawn was left orphaned after his mother had been killed. From the details provided in the online story, it appears that no one was allowed to help the fawn. He was left to die of dehydration and starvation—a tragedy that is totally unacceptable.

This inaction is likely due to state or county laws that prohibit the rescue of seemingly abandoned fawns, even when the mother’s death is confirmed. These laws must be reviewed immediately to prioritize compassion over bureaucratic rigidity. There is no reason to leave an animal to die a slow death if there are licensed wildlife rehabilitators who are willing to help.  The point of this blog post is that it is totally unacceptable to leave deer suffering, and putting them out of their misery is often necessary. But we need to do this in a humane way – which is not accomplished by shooting bullets and hoping that after several shots  the animal might die. That is why I am proposing  humane euthanasia, and when it is feasible, rehabilitation by a licensed rehabber.

But due to the bureaucracy involved in this – it would not be possible for a deer or fawn in distress to wait for an answer if they were injured. A licensed rehabber it appears needs special permission from Maryland DNR Wildlife & Heritage Service to engage in deer rehabilitation. This is another reason we need trained wildlife technicians (through Department of Natural Resources) to be able to respond to deer that are seriously injured or hit by cars.

The Wider Problem: Outdated Policies and Attitudes

These local tragedies are further proof that our wildlife laws and agencies are all too often governed by outdated and totally inhumane concepts. Instead of humanity being the guiding principle, violence is often resorted to.

I witnessed this failure firsthand years ago driving down Route 28 in Darnestown, MD. I pulled over to see a police officer standing over a fawn, pistol drawn, confirming the young deer had a broken back after being hit by a car. I asked if humane euthanasia was possible. The officer replied they had to shoot him.

To this day, I am despaired by the lack of a system for compassionate, immediate end-of-life care for suffering animals. I have seen deer suffer through many rounds of ammunition after horrific accidents, which only compounds the initial injury. (Stories of this horrific suffering inspired me to write about this issue extensively in my upcoming book, More Stories Along the Golden Path of Nature.)

There has to be a way to teach people how to drive with far more concern and awareness for animals. This in itself would go a long way towards reducing deaths and injuries of wild and domestic animals on our roads.

What are the Humane Alternatives?

As a society, we need to come up with a much more humane approach to dealing with deer and other wildlife issues. It is time to implement a comprehensive, community-focused, and non-lethal approach.

This includes exploring cutting-edge, proven methods like immunocontraception (fertility control) for deer populations, investing in wildlife corridors and fencing along major highways, as well as prioritizing driver education to reduce road collisions. Deer fencing is more reasonable approach to keep deer from your vegetable garden.

 The Crown Farm in Gaithersburg, Maryland was once an oasis abundant with song birds, acres of land and historic structures. I had the pleasure of living in an apartment that over looked this picturesque ecosystem. Years after I moved, the farm died underneath a massive sprawl of pavement and development. Surrounded by highways and development, where did all the deer, birds, coyote and other wildlife have to go? . We need to include these birds and animals in our plans and create a more integrated system.

Humane Tip: Takedown the Netting!

Leaving a net unmonitored is a disaster waiting to happen, as I witnessed when I moved to Germantown, Maryland, next to a beautiful forest. When our neighbor placed netting around his young trees, I grew concerned it might turn into a death trap for wildlife.

On an afternoon walk, I saw a house wren desperately struggling for its life in the netting. The harder the bird pulled, the more he was strangling himself. I ran inside, grabbed a pair of manicure scissors, and very cautiously trimmed the netting away. After the last strand was cut, the grateful wren flew free. This close call proves that nets are deadly traps. I spoke to my neighbor about the near death of the bird in his netting, but he refused to remove the net. Needless to say I was intensely upset and disappointed.

If you use nets for sports activities, take them down immediately when not in use, or cover them up with a tarp to keep wildlife away. Avoid using nets around trees or the garden entirely.

Humane alternatives for protecting plants and trees include:

  • Physical Barriers: Using less harmful materials like polypropylene fabric, garden cloth, or natural burlap.
  • Visual Deterrents: Employing reflective tape or scarecrows.
  • Predator Decoys: Using realistic decoys like owls or hawks.

I strongly suggest checking any type of physical barrier every day to further ensure no birds or wild animals are caught and harmed.

A Plea for More Humanity:

The choice between bullets and compassion is not a complex one. The violence we inflict upon deer—from slow, traumatic deaths by multiple gunshots to allowing fawns to starve because of archaic laws—is a direct reflection of our own failure to prioritize humane values.

The loss of the Crown Farm, the suffering of a fawn on Route 28, and the silence from our regulatory agencies all stem from one core belief: that wildlife exists solely for our convenience, and when they inconvenience us, they must be eliminated.

We are capable of greater empathy. We have the technology, from immunocontraception to wildlife corridors, to mitigate conflict without bloodshed. What we need now is the  collective moral will to demand that our wildlife management policies embrace humane policies as their guiding principle.

This is not just a plea for the deer; it is a plea for our own humanity. Let us choose compassion, demand accountability, and create a shared world where every life, wild or otherwise, is valued.

Copyright – Cynthia Fain – November 2026

A Call to Action: How We Can Share Our Planet Safely with Every Creature

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Pixabay License for fox photo (photographer Jeanette Atherton)

Every day, our human activities create hazards for wildlife. Roads, houses, technology, and speeding cars have replaced the natural rhythms and spaces wild animals rely on. But this doesn’t have to be a tragedy of our own making. By becoming more aware, we can take simple, essential steps to make the world a safer place for the creatures who share our planet. This post will share some of the most important actions we can take, starting with lessons I learned in my own backyard. My first and most heart-breaking lesson came when I moved to a house, proving that even a barrel of water can contain hidden dangers.

Several years ago, I rented a home surrounded by a lush meadow, a truly magical place where my cat, Minny Mouse, had a panoramic view of wildlife, from deer to songbirds. Minny’s favorite activity was watching a chipmunk that darted across the patio, constantly scurrying for seeds and nuts. Chasing him back and forth along the windowsill, she was convinced she would finally catch him.

A few weeks after we moved in, I saw Minny calmly sitting by the window and wondered why the chipmunk wasn’t up to his energetic routine. When the chipmunk didn’t appear, I grew concerned and investigated his mysterious disappearance.

Tragedy struck when I found the poor creature had drowned in a large barrel of water that the landlord had left on the patio. I scooped the body out and gently laid him to rest in the meadow. I carry that sadness with me, and it taught me an immediate, lifelong lesson: never leave water containers open and unattended. Now, I either turn barrels and buckets upside down, or, if the water is specifically for wildlife to drink, I always put a large stick or branch in the container. This simple addition acts as a ramp, giving smaller creatures a way to climb out and escape a tragic drowning.

The danger of standing water extends to swimming pools. Even a small frog or a tired songbird can get trapped. If you have a pool, you must have a safety mechanism for wildlife and amphibians. Consider installing a Frog Log, Skamper-Ramp, or other boarding steps. These simple safety precautions save lives. (Link to an article about swimming pools and safety for wildlife: https://www.humanegardener.com/wildlife-and-swimming-pools/)

Our responsibility to keep our property safe also extends to removing hazardous debris we leave behind, especially near natural water bodies.

While serving on the Environmental and Wildlife Rescue Committees in Montgomery Village, Maryland, I saw first-hand one of the most devastating human-caused hazards: discarded fishing line. This invisible enemy is a major source of deaths and debilitating injuries for birds, waterfowl, and turtles. The issue of fishing line entanglement is a serious danger that comes with devastating consequences. I was horrified watching a man at a local pond hook a turtle, only to violently jerk the hook out and toss the injured animal back into the water without a second thought. That callous disregard for life is a tough thing to witness, but it reinforces the need for our community to be vigilant. Whether you fish or not, if you are near a body of water, always be on the lookout for abandoned line. If you see it, please carefully gather it up, cut it into small pieces, and secure it in a proper trash receptacle.

Another hazard that silently kills millions of birds every year is found not on the ground, but in the windows of our homes.

One simple remedy, to prevent these tragic deaths – is to put decals on your windows. These decals make the glass visible to birds by breaking up the reflection, showing them there is a solid surface, not just empty sky. This helps to re-direct the birds away from, fatal collisions. I have seen birds break their necks and suffer fatal injuries too many times when they fail to see a window and strike it headfirst. Amazon.com, Walmart.com and https://www.theaudubonshop.com/ are a few places you can purchase bird saving window decals.

The scale of this issue, however, extends far beyond residential homes, reaching the tall towers of our cities. According to the American Bird Conservancy migrating birds strike windows and are dying by the millions in the USA (https://abcbirds.org/news/bird-building-collisions-study-2024/.) To help avoid this catastrophe buildings can use protective measures which include turning off unnecessary lights during migration, especially at night; and adding decals to windows, using patterned films, or UV-patterned glass to prevent collisions.  

As we work to protect wildlife from the world humans have built, we must also consider the threat posed by our beloved pets—our own domestic cats.

As a cat owner and a lover of nature, I understand the joy of watching a cat enjoy the outdoors. However, the decision to allow a cat to free-roam is perhaps one of the most critical choices we make regarding wildlife safety. Two humane solutions that I have used to let my cats spend time in nature are to walk them on a harness or let them sit in a portable pen.

My cat Shadow loved to be walked on his harness and spend time in his outdoor pen. As an additional precaution I bought Shadow a GPS tracker that I attached to his collar, in case he slipped out of his harness. When I used his portable outdoor pen, I always sat with him. He was never left unattended while in the pen. Often we sat by the edge of the forest and watched the deer and listened to the birds.

While living atop a huge hill near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shadow and I went out on an adventure with him on his harness. As we approached a butterfly bush adorned in purple blossoms, I told Shadow, “We are at the top of the world on this spring evening!” And as the sun set, with pink hues illuminating the sky, Shadow looked around at all the magic nature provided.

To prevent injuries and deaths of birds, rabbits and other wildlife, I encourage people who want their cat to get outdoor time to use a harness or portable pen. This allows your cat to get vital time in nature and can save many thousands of bird and animal lives. This is also safer for your cat who can otherwise be hit by a car, attacked by another animal or get lost. Your cat can still enjoy the wonders of nature without posing a threat to wildlife by being walked on a harness, spending time in an outdoor portable pen or “catio” (cat patio).

We’ve addressed hazards we can see, but what about the dangers that are carefully concealed? An invisible killer that is used far too often are toxic rodenticides. Whenever you see those black boxes around office buildings, restaurants, and houses you are looking at one of the worst dangers to domestic animals and wildlife. These boxes are often filled with anti-coagulant poisoning which causes a slow death by internal bleeding. Not only is this an inhumane way for rats and mice to die – non targeted species like chipmunks can suffer a terrible death if they crawl into the boxes and eat the bait.

Secondary poisoning occurs when non targeted species consume the bodies of animals poisoned by the rodenticide. Thousands of birds and animals die from these poisons. Once these rodenticides enter the greater eco-system they spread danger to other animals and birds.

I believe the use of poisons should be universally banned. They cause tremendous suffering and should be replaced with humane alternatives. Absolutely never use glue traps. These torture devices should be banned as well. Animals struggle in a vain attempt to free themselves from the glue. I have used cooking oil to release mice caught in glue traps (at places where I worked), and the mice are exhausted and injured from their desperate struggle to free themselves.

Humane catch-and-release traps are a great alternative to poisons, but they must be monitored regularly so the trapped animals don’t die from dehydration or starvation. Better yet, focus on exclusion work to keep mice from entering your home in the first place. By finding areas rodents can enter your house and blocking the portals with steel wool or boards, you eliminate the problem without resorting to traps or toxins. Property management companies need to get educated about the danger to animals, wildlife, and even children when they place these rodenticide black boxes around buildings. For more information, please see this excellent article by The Wildlife Center of Virginia:

This link takes you to the article – https://wildlifecenter.org/help-advice/wildlife-issues/rodenticide-poisoning-wildlife

In fact, the most common and dangerous threat to both domestic and wild animals remain a hazard we encounter daily: the roads we drive on.

One of the most important things you can do to help animals is to drive with a commitment to slowing down and staying aware. People drive as though the wild or domestic animal jumping out in front of their car is something shocking and unexpected. But it is the other way around. We are shocking the animals who are simply being forced to navigate our intrusions. We need to learn to think like the animals do. When you speed down the road, there is always the chance that an animal will dart out. I tend to stay in the right lane because I know that I drive slower, I always slow down when I see any animal. That does not mean suddenly jamming on brakes, it means that you slow down enough so that you have safe reaction time.

The agony of seeing any animal hit and injured on the road is painful to witness. I have seen deer hit and trying to drag themselves off the road. I have seen groundhogs bleeding and struggling to breathe after being hit. One of my other blog posts documents the tragedy I saw when I lived in Culpeper, VA when a ground hog was hit by a driver who could have easily avoided the animal. (Why A Ground Hog’s Life Matters – https://compassionatevoicesfornature.com/2023/02/).

I have avoided hitting countless animals by driving slower and always anticipating that an animal can suddenly jump into traffic. If we all drove with more respect for each other, and more awareness of the animals around us, there would be far fewer fatalities. I suggest carrying the number of your local emergency animal control to call immediately when you see an injured animal on the road.

Sadly in the case of deer, you usually need to call the police who are not equipped to humanely euthanize deer. This is an issue I have been researching for years. I would like to see progress made towards a more compassionate response to hit and injured deer. One idea would be for licensed wildlife technicians to be dispatched that could humanely euthanize (not multiple hit and miss bullets in an injured deer). I am working on a second book of true stories about my experiences with animals and nature. One of my stories is called, “Cry of the Deer.” This story goes much deeper into the need for proper humane response to deer injured and dying due to car accidents.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and are prepared to help create a more humane world. Many wildlife species want us to hear their cry. Please let me know what your suggestions are for creating a safer world for all of nature and animals. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this.

Copyright – Cynthia Fain – October 2025

TRANSFORMING OUR VIEWS OF WILDIFE THROUGH COMPASSION

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Pixabay License – Photo by Alain Audet

I often wonder how humans came to view wildlife as things to be controlled
through acts of violence. Over many years of becoming educated about global
animal protection issues, the staggering abuse of wildlife became all too
apparent.

In the United States, our government agencies often resort to violence when
dealing with a variety of wildlife issues. Anyone who has read my blog entries
over the last several years will see that I am very passionate about the need
for an entirely new perspective on wildlife.

Looking at the current trend of building densely packed suburbs full of
human conveniences, we have long forgotten the needs of wildlife. Where were
the plans for the needs of wildlife put, in any of these suburban designs?
These days if people see coyote or deer in their neighborhood, they act like
they don’t belong there. They forget – all their houses are built on what was
once the animal’s habitat.

This rampant deforestation is having devastating effects on wildlife, migratory
birds, water quality, air quality and human’s quality of life. Forests are
destroyed and land has been totally fragmented and paved over. Why can’t we
find a way to integrate more forest and greenspace among our human suburbs?

People act offended when deer come in their yard and eat their landscaping.
Why don’t people put themselves in the place of deer and find out what it is
like to have to navigate mansions where your habitat once was? Deer and other
wildlife are forced to cross busy roads and so often get brutally injured or
killed. Instead of viewing them as being in our way – please have compassion for the
injuries they suffer trying to find their way among human chaos.

Often I have attended local government meetings where homeowners complain
about deer and demand that more and more deer must be killed. I have
attended meetings in which the level of hysteria over deer was truly
frightening. So much ignorance and hatred has come over people regarding deer
populations. The first thing to remember is that wild animals roamed where your
houses are. They have had their habitat destroyed by human encroachment. How
were deer and other wild animals supposed to cross super highways? In a recent blog post I mentioned the incredible wildlife over passes that have been built to aide wildlife in areas where there are high mortalities. This is a major step in the right direction. 

Tonight is Thanksgiving, a time to honor the compassion and gratitude in
life. It is very important – to extend compassion to all those who are
vulnerable, be they human or animal. I came across a story on You Tube about a
woman who volunteered in Nigeria and came across a starving, abandoned baby.
Here is the link to the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X-TlYEBVOI.
I loved this story. It shows how one act of stepping forward and providing
compassionate assistance, can lead to magical transformations.

One of the reason’s that I am posting the link to this story is because it
seems that some of the callous attitudes in modern times, are due to people losing
touch with deeper compassion. Attitudes have become too materialistic and not
focused enough on seeing the bigger picture in life. 

Why not dedicate a place in your yard for wildlife to seek refuge? Observe their patterns and get to know them. That will lead to break throughs in your ability to see solutions to living with these animals instead of building black metal gates to keep them out. One of the most disturbing trends today is the use of bow hunters to kill deer in the suburbs. Impaling deer with arrows is a sadistic and brutal way to deal with their presence among us.

If you look at the struggles we have created for wildlife, and further look
at the horrific violence (sport hunting, managed hunts, poisons, traps etc.),
we as humans, are quite lucky to have all the conveniences of cars, Internet,
google maps, grocery stores etc. Before we sanction more violence and animosity towards
deer etc., step back and ask yourself what can you learn from the deer? I truly
believe that all this hatred of deer in the suburbs is reminding people how far
we have come from living in harmony with nature and valuing nature. The whole
paradigm of reactive violence to wildlife needs to shift into a more
compassionate and holistic perspective.

Both human and animal lives deserve compassion. I hope people will look at
the deeper picture that is facing humanity when it comes to environmental and
wildlife issues. We need to add more forests and wildlife habitat into our
development plans. This needs to happen now and become the norm. People need
the songs of birds, clean air and sparkling streams and so do all life forms.
Trying to control species through violence is not the answer. Like the story mentioned in the link above, great and inspiring change comes from seeing the deeper picture in life and administering compassion.

Part Two – Powers of Observation

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I will continue to discuss the subject of Powers of Observation. Our tendency to accept animal  fatalities on our roads as a normal by product of our daily, busy lives, is truly sad. This is something that gets so little attention, but we need to take responsibility for taking time to learn how to avoid hitting wildlife, and of course human pedestrians. I believe that most of this could be avoided by making it a priority to slow down and concentrate on driving. We are way too distracted and anxious today. I have attended many civic organization and environmental meetings over the last two decades. Listening to most of the people who come to these meetings you would think that deer are being singled out as being all wrong, way too many of them, and they need to be eradicated. If these groups adhered to the concept of Powers of Observation – these people and organizations would honor what the deer have to go through in order to live among the human chaos. Instead, most of what I have heard over the year’s when attending meetings is that the deer are nothing but a nuisance. I differ with that, and believe they might think we are a nuisance to them. What I would suggest, is that if we had developed our cities and suburbs with a far more holistic, humane, compassionate and ecologically balanced view, all the wildlife, including deer, would have their travel ways, their habitat and their way of life honored. Instead, what we have ended up with is severe loss of forest habitat, massive forest fragmentation, killing off of large predators such as mountain lions, severely degraded watersheds, way too much impervious surface etc. Furthermore, we totally forgot to included wildlife in our traffic plans. Can you imagine being a deer or other wild animal and ending up having your habitat totally paved over, and then have to cross a mega highway? Well, that is the mess our wildlife face. So when I hear about all the outrage about deer, I say well what the heck did we ever do to honor them to begin with? We absolutely must get back to a far more compassionate and responsible way of living on the planet. I believe that much of what is blamed on the deer is just a severe reflection of what humanity is doing to the ecosystem. I have a homework assignment for anyone reading this blog. The next time you get angry at a deer or some other wild animal – walk in their shoes! Start a journal and see what it would be like to become that animal for a day or a week. Keep a list of all the things you see that animal having to go through to manage around traffic, people etc. As I have written in previous journal entries – I have been a long time member of both the civic, and environmental movement, but I hold very different views about deer and other wildlife issues. And I strongly believe we way over persecute deer instead of honoring them. I always see the environmental and civic groups holding “deer forums”. In all these cases there is usually nothing but a forum for people to continue blaming deer and not seeing what the deeper ills are. Deer don’t always cause car  accidents. We cause an enormous amount of these deer auto collisions. And I have written a paper based on my own experiences and this paper teaches people how to avoid hitting wildlife. I am 53 years old and have never hit a deer. and that folks is not an accident. It is entirely due to SLOWING DOWN and honoring life. Folks, it works. SLOW DOWN and RESPECT LIFE. In my next blog entry I will discuss many of the things that are typically blamed on deer and how we need to re-frame this view. We will discuss the concept of promoting and using non violence to deal with deer issues.