[cordeliatphoto/flickr]

Both the town and village of East Hampton are going ahead with their plans to reduce the local deer population via a sharpshooters’ cull. The plan is enthusiastically supported by those who believe the town is being overrun with deer and decried by local nature lovers. Concert promoter and East Hampton resident Ron Delsener is retaining a New York law firm to try to stop the plan from going ahead. An online petition at change.org, “Stop Long Island Farm Bureau/USDA Stealth Plan to Brutally Slaughter 5,000 East End Deer,” currently has more than 2500 signatures. The Humane Society of the United States is also considering getting involved. Laura Simon, a wildlife ecologist there, mentioned the “bounceback effect”:  does typically become more fertile after a herd has been reduced. “‘Deer will have twins and triplets after their numbers have been reduced,’ Ms. Simon said. ‘This is going to be a long-term, ongoing commitment from towns to try to keep killing deer every year, and then their numbers will pop right back up.'” ·

Mounting Anger on Deer Reduction Plan [EH Star] · All deer coverage [Curbed Hamptons]