Wisconsin Senate leader demands DNR fire deer experts
December 3, 2009
MADISON, Wis. (AP) A powerful state senator called Thursday for wildlife officials to fire anyone involved with deer management after hunters killed the fewest deer in years during Wisconsins traditional November hunt.
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, said the Department of Natural Resources has draconian herd-control policies that have devastated the deer population, leaving hunters empty-handed. The experts who designed the regulations deserve to lose their jobs, he said.
Theyve earned what they got coming. Theyve screwed us over too many years in a row now, Decker told The Associated Press. They got what they wanted. They wanted a decimated deer herd. I dont think anybody trusts them anymore.
DNR officials rejected Deckers demand.
We know there is hunter frustration, but the suggestion to fire staff is not a constructive proposal, DNR Secretary Matt Frank said in a statement.
Wisconsins November deer hunt is as much a part of the states culture and image as cows, cheese and the Green Bay Packers. Hunters constantly complain about the DNRs deer regulations, but Deckers statements reflect a new level of anger over two years of anemic hunts.
At the heart of the issue are the DNRs herd-control policies.
