time to put those boom-booms to good use, gunners!

get them before they get us!


Discovery of Omicron in New York deer raises concern over possible new variants
[www.reuters.com]

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The discovery of the Omicron variant in white-tailed deer in New York has raised concerns that the species, numbering 30 million in the United States, could become hosts of a new coronavirus strain, a lead researcher said on Tuesday.

Blood and some nasal swab samples from 131 deer captured on New York's Staten Island revealed that nearly 15% had virus antibodies. The finding suggested that the animals had previous coronavirus infections and were vulnerable to repeated reinfections with new variants, researchers led by Pennsylvania State University scientists said.

“Circulation of the virus in an animal population always raises the possibility of getting back to humans, but more importantly it provides more opportunities for the virus to evolve into novel variants,” said Suresh Kuchipudi, a Penn State veterinary microbiologist.

In other situation, they might need to put the guns down. I'm talking about wolf hunting.

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Iowa, a place with a whole lot of deer, is documenting 70-80% herd COVID infection - pigs next?

The interesting thing is that the deer show little or no symptoms, and it doesn't seem to affect them.

Hunting is an integral part of wildlife management. If hunters can't/won't be around the deer, there will be a cascade of issues most haven't considered.

One big one is that many states derive a significant portion of their fish and wildlife dept budget comes from fishing and hunting licenses. No one hunting deer? No revenue, and deer population will explode. And those deer can pass it on to people and animals in the suburbs too. COVID ends up in poop.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

Unfortunately there aren't enough people hunting deer, and we've killed off most of their natural predators, so deer populations are going up. So much so, my city instituted and urban deer hunt at one point (limited to archery).

urban deer hunt at one point (limited to archery).


Having seen several deer that feed and water along a marginal creek near a friend's house that have arrows sticking out of them, I'm not a fan of randos playing deerslayer.

This is a fairly urban area, creek not withstanding, so it's not like anybody needs venison to survive.

I think anybody who wounds a deer or other game animal and doesn't track it down is probably just 'shooting for fun' and shouldn't be allowed to hunt, ever.

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I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I read (sorry - can't find the source) that there are 11 million deer hunters in this country, and 30 million deer. That's fewer than 3 deer per hunter.

Those deer hunters need to stop sitting around admiring the guns on their wall, and get out of the house to do their job.

When I was in the Canyon Lake area of Texas I was absolutely flabberghasted by how many deer were around... Walking through one of the neighborhoods to get to the dock I couldn't turn a corner without running into another pack of 4-5 deer. And it was not that I was chasing the same pack in front of me...

Seemed ripe for hunting as they definitely had that area overpopulated.
And explained to me the high rate of covid transmission in Texas... if other non-urban areas were like that.

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g=

The wolves did a pretty good job of keeping the deer population in check, but then wolves almost got exterminated. With the wolf population having rebounded due to protection laws, deer population in those states again are starting to be managed by wolves. Oh, but those states either have, or want to restart wolf hunting and trapping because those pesky wolves are making it difficult for the beer-swilling hunter to bag one. Hunters now actually have to work to get a deer, like nature intended. Also, never mind that farmers who loudly complain about their livestock getting eaten, are getting handsomely compensated by state governments, but don't enact protection measures to prevent wolf attacks.

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The arts are not luxuries but assets that give way more than they cost.
--Ronald Tucker on YouTube

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.
--Frank Zappa

Quote
Sam3
The wolves did a pretty good job of keeping the deer population in check, but then wolves almost got exterminated. With the wolf population having rebounded due to protection laws, deer population in those states again are starting to be managed by wolves. Oh, but those states either have, or want to restart wolf hunting and trapping because those pesky wolves are making it difficult for the beer-swilling hunter to bag one. Hunters now actually have to work to get a deer, like nature intended. Also, never mind that farmers who loudly complain about their livestock getting eaten, are getting handsomely compensated by state governments, but don't enact protection measures to prevent wolf attacks.

I, for one, bow to our new Lupus overlords!

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Quote
Sam3
deer population in those states again are starting to be managed by wolves.

Also Little Red Riding Hoods and little pigs (but only the ones in wood & straw houses).

Hmm…
This virus is wildly zoonotic. And mutates rapidly,

Yep… full on Endemic.

Quote
Racer X
The interesting thing is that the deer show little or no symptoms, and it doesn't seem to affect them.

Hunting is an integral part of wildlife management. If hunters can't/won't be around the deer, there will be a cascade of issues most haven't considered.

One big one is that many states derive a significant portion of their fish and wildlife dept budget comes from fishing and hunting licenses. No one hunting deer? No revenue, and deer population will explode. And those deer can pass it on to people and animals in the suburbs too. COVID ends up in poop.

It's worse than just an explosion of the deer population. Most park systems would have a huge budget short fall. Just wait until the hikers, picnickers, etc have to pay a per person fee to access the parks.

Quote
RAMd®d
urban deer hunt at one point (limited to archery).


Having seen several deer that feed and water along a marginal creek near a friend's house that have arrows sticking out of them, I'm not a fan of randos playing deerslayer.

This is a fairly urban area, creek not withstanding, so it's not like anybody needs venison to survive.

I think anybody who wounds a deer or other game animal and doesn't track it down is probably just 'shooting for fun' and shouldn't be allowed to hunt, ever.

Many years ago, Philly tried to use the PD sharpshooters to cull the deer population. They weren't able to take one deer. I believe that they wound up issuing tags to archery hunters who had a history of fulfilling their deer tags.