FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Anja Heister, In Defense of Animals, (406) 544-5727, anja@idausa.org
Lane Ferrante, Deer Defenders, (216) 640-7934, deerdefenders@aol.com

In Defense Of Animals Offers $2,000 Reward In ‘Bust-A-Poacher’ Program

Cleveland, Ohio (August 12, 2014) – In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization with more than 200,000 supporters, is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone caught poaching deer in Northeast Ohio.

The reward is part of the ‘Bust-A-Poacher’ Program in cooperation with the Ohio based group Deer Defenders, a watchdog organization of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) urban deer hunting program. The reward offer comes at a time when a number of Ohio cities are being pressured into passing ordinances that allow hunting with few restrictions or regulation enforcement. “Ohio has become one of the nation’s top destinations for hunting white-tailed deer,” stated ODNR Director James Zehringer, which is likely the reason for the increase in the number of injured deer seen with arrows sticking out of their backs, necks, and heads. Deer left to languish with these injuries die a slow and painful death. “The deer killing frenzy in Ohio is out of control,” said Anja Heister, director of IDA’s Wild and Free-Habitats Campaign. She added, “Ohio hunters killed nearly 219,000 deer in 2012-13, but apparently that is not enough for the ODNR, whose only interest is maximizing deer numbers so they can serve as living targets for hunters.”

Lane Ferrante, Cleveland resident and long-time animal advocate who runs Deer Defenders, explains that, “Avon Lake is already allowing bow hunting of deer year-round, meaning that pregnant deer will be killed and newly born fawns will die from starvation when their mothers are killed. This is incredibly brutal and cruel and is as far removed from the so-called “fair chase” ethical code that hunters always use to justify their killing as it gets.”

Bow hunting is incredibly cruel and ineffective, and has no place in urban areas. Much more effective and humane methods exist, including fertility control for urban deer, which successfully reduced deer numbers at metro area parks between 1994 and 2004. Nevertheless, the ODNR is pressing forward with its backwards agenda to cater only to those who enjoy killing, ignoring the public’s concern for the lives of urban deer and public safety.

IDA urges anyone with information about a poaching incident to contact either IDA’s tip line at (415) 448-0048, ext. 228 or call Deer Defenders at (216) 640-7934.

Download a copy of the Bust-A-Poacher flier here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3284093/Bust-A-Poacher%20Flyer.jpg

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