Orchard owner wants right to shoot nuisance deer

A Long Reach, N.B., orchard owner wants permission to shoot deer on his property during winter months.

Chas MacKay says he lost 80 per cent of his yieldafterdeer ate the buds from his trees. Last winter brought a record 434.8 centimetres of snow to the region, allowing deer to reach into the higher branches

"If you look down here, it used to be dripping with apples," said MacKay, "and now there's hardly anything."

MacKayhas closed his U-pick operation on weekends but will leave it open through the week until this year's thinharvest is done.

I would like permission to shoot the deer that are on my property.Chas MacKay

He now wants to take matters into his own hands. "I would like permission to shoot the deer that are on my property," said MacKay, "in my orchard, January, February and March."

The Department of Natural Resources says farmers can apply for nuisance deer hunting licences, but they can be used onlyduring the fall hunting season, not during winter months when deer are eating the buds. The departmentwill also partially fund deer fencingand farmers can apply for compensation for loss of business.

MacKaydismissesthose programs asbureaucratic,saying itwill take too long.