[Tink]

Shannon, the environment here is so ideal for deer that they become far too plentiful and end up roadkill or starving to death over winter. I don't like seeing them killed, yet it's a more merciful death to be shot than hit by a vehicle or slowly starve once the snow and cold steal their food source. They really have no natural enemies here to keep their numbers down.

I live only 3 miles from my job and see dead deer along the HWY often on my way in. It's awful when they get hit and don't die right away... just heartbreaking! They also have killed people who were unlucky enough to have them come through the windshield. Almost everyone I know has hit a deer at one time or another. They're SO quick and like to run out into the light in front of cars and trucks. I've hit a couple and have friends whose cars have been totalled by hitting them.

We have a lot of farms and forests here, so most of the year the deer eat well and as a result, many now have twins which just adds to the problem.