Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conferences
Date of this Version
2-2-1991
Abstract
High populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in much of the eastern United States have increased the probability of deer-related vehicle accidents (DRVAs). These accidents are very costly in terms of vehicle repair and have the potential for serious physical injury to motorists. DRVAs are increasing rapidly in suburban areas, where deer may also cause other types of damage (i.e., to gardens or ornamental shrubs). In these suburban areas, wildlife professionals have limited deer management options. We hypothesized that the peoples' perception of the potential risk posed by DRVAs interacts with the perceived benefits provided by deer, to influence their desired deer population level. We conducted a mail survey of 624 randomly selected Tompkins County, New York residents (68% response rate, n = 424), to explore this hypothesis.