Ky. Ponders Deer Hunts at Parks to Raise Revenue

Humane Society opposes plan to allow hunters who stay in state parks to shoot deer

The Associated Press
By ROGER ALFORD Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. December 9, 2010 (AP)

Political leaders in cash-strapped Kentucky are proposing winter getaway packages for hunters that would allow them to shoot deer at publicly owned parks to raise money for state government.

Tourism Secretary Marcheta Sparrow said such a move could generate cash during a time of year when traditional tourists tend to stay home. Some hunting is already allowed in the parks to manage deer populations.

The proposal drew quick opposition from The Humane Society of the United States.

"We think it's a travesty, because state parks are one of the few safe havens left, not just for animals but for people who enjoy watching wildlife," said Laura Simon, the Humane Society's field director for urban wildlife.

Sparrow briefed the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission on the proposal last week. The cost for the proposed hunting getaways hasn't yet been determined.

"We think it's a good opportunity to build a new constituency," she said.

Sparrow said the parks are closed Sunday afternoons through midday Wednesday during the winter months, and that it would be during those periods that hunters would be invited in.

"We're working as hard as we can do develop any market we can," she said.

Kentucky, like other states, has been wrestling with financial problems brought on by the economic recession. State revenue has fallen by some $2 billion in the past three years, prompting widespread cuts in government agencies and programs.

Sparrow has been exploring ways to cut costs, including privatizing some park operations to help offset the budget shortfall.

Simon said the hunting packages are a bad idea.

"We're seeing a big push in other states to open up more public land to hunting, but the package deals being proposed in Kentucky are unique and push the envelope even further," Simon said. "We don't think this is an appropriate use of state lands, to open them up for hunting for the primary purpose of filling state coffers."

State tourism spokesman Gil Lawson said deer hunting isn't new to the park system. The state routinely schedules quota hunts to manage the size of deer herds. Next month, hunters will be used to thin herds at Greenbo, Green River and Lake Barkley state parks.

"These all relate to overpopulation of deer," Lawson said.

The proposed deer hunting packages, Lawson said, would also be geared toward controlling deer populations, and would be available only in a handful of the 15 parks that have cabins and cottages.

"They're destroying habitat, and they could face starvation and disease, and so we see this as a herd management tool as well as to help state parks gain some business," he said.

Simon dismissed that argument, calling it "terribly flawed."

"We are not seeing starvation," she said. "Deer are doing really, really well."

What's worse, Simon said, is that the park deer likely won't know to run from hunters.

"They do become habituated, and there's certainly no sport in shooting them," she said. "You've got tame deer, and they're sitting ducks for hunters. They'll come running right up to them, practically."

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