A Deer Hunt is proposed along Valley Road. A .22 Long Rifle (40 gr RN) has a maximum range of 2000 yards or 1.14 miles. Karebrook Nature Study Area is less than 100 yards across at its narrowest point.

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Proposed Deer Hunt

Public Affairs Committee hearing on July 6

Abington Township's Director of Parks & Recreation Douglas Wendall has be proposing a controlled deer hunt in the Karebrook Nature Study Area on Valley Road for the full deer hunting season from September 20, 2011 to January 24, 2012. This is being proposed because of the increase in deer related accidents on Valley Road. In 2010, there were 25 deer-related accidents on Valley Road, compared to 10 in 2009. The entire Township had 72 in 2010, compared to 47 in 2009. The worst year on record was 1994, with 84 deer-related accidents.

Since records have been maintained in 1990, there have been no human fatalities in these deer-related accidents in Abington Township. See the left sidebar from Ward 1 Commissioner Steven Kline for information about meeting and upcoming hearings.

signAccording to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries. The actual numbers are probably higher because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's figures for deer accidents, rely on inconsistent state reporting- there is no standard reporting of deer accidents in the country yet, and a "reportable deer accident" varies significantly between states. In an insurance claims statistics study conducted in 2004-2005 the top ten states for deer accidents were listed. According to this study, Pennsylvania drivers experience more deer collisions than any other state.

In considering this proposal, residents should also factor-in shooting accidents.

 According to International Hunter Education Association, in 1998 hunting accidents were 4th highest on the list of fatalities during popular outdoor activities. Hunting had 92 fatalities in 1998 compared to 1700 from swimming accidents, 836 from boating and 97 from scuba-diving. Among deer hunters, there were a total of 11 fatal shooting accidents and 140 were non-fatal.

Hunters frequently station themselves in trees to create a firing angle that will assure that bullets do not travel outside of the hunting grounds into the surrounding residential areas. USA Today reported that a 10-year survey of hunting-related injuries at two major trauma centers in Ohio found that falling out of trees is how the majority of deer hunters are injured. "More and more frequently, we're seeing people showing up in our emergency rooms that weren't shot but who fell out of tree stands," says Charles Cook, a trauma surgeon at the Ohio State University Medical Center and author of the study, which is in this month's edition of The American Surgeon, a medical journal.

If approved, this hunt in Abington will be conducted by Township personnel with bow and arrows.
 

 

 

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