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Deer Exclusion Devices and Deterrent Techniques

EVALUATION OF THE EFFICACY OF VARIOUS DEER EXCLUSION DEVICES AND DETERRENT TECHNIQUES FOR USE AT AIRPORTS

2. Introduction

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the safety hazards to aircraft posed by white-tailed deer on airport runways. After birds, deer have caused the greatest number of wildlife collisions with civil aircraft in the United States (Cleary et al. 1998). Problems have occurred at several Canadian and American airports, primarily on the eastern part of the continent. Deer have been an ongoing problem at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport for several decades. There have also been recent deer problems at several smaller Ontario airports; for example, Peterborough, Kingston and Kitchener-Waterloo. Over the past 30-40 years, many techniques, methods, and types of equipment have been used or proposed for use to control deer in many situations, including airports. There is much first hand experience, but most of it is unpublished and not readily available. The lack of widely available documentation of effective techniques to control deer hazards at airports can lead to money being wasted on ineffective techniques and the deployment of inappropriate measures. For this reason, Transport Canada retained LGL Limited to critically evaluate the available information and recommend the most appropriate techniques in terms of both effectiveness and cost.

In addition to exclusion fences designed to keep deer off airport properties, many techniques have been developed to prevent deer damage to agricultural crops and residential properties. These include methods that reduce depredation by deer, but often do not exclude them. Other techniques have been developed to reduce or prevent collisions with automobiles. Many control products and techniques intended primarily for use with birds have also been used by airport operators to scare deer away from airports when they risk causing collisions. These measures typically employ loud noises and are generally temporary, as deer will readily habituate to loud or frightening noises if no physical harm has been demonstrated.

During the past two decades there has been a remarkable increase in the population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America. By 1900, white-tailed deer had been hunted to a point of near-extinction with only about 100,000 animals remaining in the United States; however, by 1994, the number of white-tailed deer was estimated to number over 26 million animals (Jacobson and Kroll 1994). In addition to white-tailed deer, other ungulates whose populations have increased include mule deer (O. hemionus), elk (Cervus elaphus), and moose (Alces alces). As a result of increased populations of these species, frequency of collisions between wild ungulates and automobiles has increased. In the United States, vehicle collisions with ungulates have increased from an estimated 200,000 incidents in 1980 to 500,000 in 1991 (Romin and Bissonette 1996a). Even these high numbers are likely to be conservative due to under-reporting of collisions. Deer collisions with aircraft have also become a serious problem. Although the focus of this report is on white-tailed deer, all wild ungulates present similar potential problems to airport operators; therefore, this evaluation of control techniques also applies to control of other ungulate species.

Date modified:
2010-05-03