(Blue Ridge Now) Proposed changes to the state’s wildlife regulations have many local deer hunters up in arms, claiming the rewritten rules would set back deer management in North Carolina 100 years.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is proposing to relax its regulations surrounding “depredation,” allowing landowners to kill wildlife found in the act of damaging their property by using artificial lights at night, without a permit.
Landowners would not have to report the kill unless it was a bear, a change from current regulations that require them to report any deer killed in the act of damaging crops or other property.
“They’re throwing their hands up and walking away from deer management,” said David Whitmire, a Transylvania County landscaper who is program chair of the N.C. Bowhunters Association. “This should bother not just hunters, but anybody who enjoys seeing wildlife.”
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