Four-point deer regulation not good policy in Southeast region

A balanced deer herd and bigger bucks -- that's what the Missouri Department of Conservation hopes to offer with its four-point deer antler regulation.

Now the Conservation Department wants to expand the four-point regulation to eight counties in Southeast Missouri after only a two-year pilot program in 29 northern and central counties.

MDC staff members admittedly don't know the long-term effects of the rule in the counties already under a four-point system because it's only been two years since the program started. Not enough time has passed to determine if the program is successful or not.

Is this the right move in the targeted counties of Wayne, Stoddard, Madison, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Scott, Perry and Ste. Genevieve? Not if public opinion counts for anything.

The No. 1 goal of the four-point regulation is to "shift harvest pressure towards the does," according to resource biologist Lonnie Hansen, who oversees the state's deer program. It's no secret heavy deer populations in northern and central tier counties cause an abundance of problems, from deer/vehicle collisions to crop damage. The auto insurance industry has also placed intense pressure on MDC to reduce deer numbers.

Since does produce the offspring, reducing their numbers is obviously the best way to control the population, and that's why MDC has offered an abundant and many times limitless supply of antlerless permits in those areas for several years.

In the areas already under the four-point regulation, hunters still have plenty of harvest opportunity if they choose to shoot a doe because deer populations are much larger, and if they let those smaller bucks pass by, the number of larger bucks will increase.

The problem is there's a huge difference between northern Missouri and Southeast Missouri.

The northern and central counties have historically had much higher deer population densities because of those regions' agricultural habitat. For the most part, the targeted counties in Southeast Missouri lack the agricultural habitat to sustain large deer populations. Southeast region counties consist mainly of oak, hickory and pine forest.

Since Southeast Missouri doesn't have the "deer surpluses" of northern counties, comparing the two regions is, as the saying goes, like comparing apples to oranges.

The fact is MDC knows this. That's why they don't offer extra antlerless permits (some still call them bonus tags) to the public in any of the targeted counties, except Perry and Ste. Genevieve.

If the primary reason for a four-point regulation is to shift harvest pressure away from bucks and toward does, why is MDC suddenly trying to reduce doe numbers in Southeast Missouri when they have stood firm against large-scale antlerless permit availability in the same region for years? The only obvious benefit of the four-point rule here would be more large bucks, and that is what is pushing this proposal.

Deer hunting for many is no longer about feeding your family and enjoying the outdoors. It's about killing big bucks at any cost, and it's sad that the heritage and tradition of deer hunting has been tarnished by hunters who compete against each other in a macho contest to see who can kill the buck with the largest antlers.

Sadly, young hunters would be subject to the four-point rule as well. Under the four-point rule, a youth hunter would be able to harvest any deer during the youth season. However, if they failed to kill a deer then, they would be subject to the four-point rule during the regular firearms season.

Would you be able to tell your son or daughter they can't shoot because the deer in front of them wasn't big enough? Wouldn't that spike buck be a trophy in their eyes? And what about those youths 12 or older who can hunt by themselves with hunter education certification? Will they be able to control their excitement and be able to positively identify a deer's number of antler points in an instant?

At a public meeting Jan. 9 in Piedmont to address the issue, Hansen said 40 percent of Southeast region hunters supported the four-point rule, but in the same breath he said it's easy to skew survey responses to get the results you want.

Sure, 40 percent were in favor when asked a vague question, but what he freely admitted was those 40 percent were in favor of the regulation elsewhere, not where they hunt. Likewise, when 134 out of 135 people at a public meeting object and show no interest in antler size, MDC should take notice.

Hansen even was overheard after the Piedmont meeting saying he didn't agree with the regulation for the Southeast region.

If the chief biologist doesn't agree with it, what's driving the initiative to establish the regulation here? Are politicians or MDC commissioners, who aren't trained biologists, making decisions for their own benefit? Ironically, MDC Commissioner Stephen Bradford of Cape Girardeau owns a large Wayne County farm. He and his trophy-hunting buddies stand to benefit when neighboring landowners and hunters are forced to pass up smaller bucks.

If a hunter or landowner wishes to restrict harvest to large bucks, they should be commended, but to force an unsound regulation on the general public is bad policy, especially when the majority oppose it.

The fact is Southeast Missouri's deer population is smaller and the four-point regulation could be devastating, except maybe in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties. Sure, larger bucks would be available after a few years, but overall deer numbers could drop drastically. Hansen stressed overharvest of does was a very real possibility in our area and if that were to happen, it could take years to recover.

Under the leadership of John Hoskins, MDC has earned a reputation of listening to the public. The public has spoken now, but will MDC listen?

Paul Davis is the outdoors editor of the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo.