Killing Deer is Not Science - It's Horrific Violence!
How humans choose to use scientific facts dictates our ethics, logic, and how we structure a peaceful society. Science values life and strives to improve it, not destroy it.
Guns terminate biological life. Killing is driven by threat, survival, conflict, and malice. The decision to end life is a primal response, an act of aggression, and an exercise of domination and control, not scientific inquiry.
Killing deer in Arlington, Virginia is a deliberate, savage act of violence.
The Arlington County Government’s FY2026 adopted budget allocated $151,000 to the Arlington, Virginia Deer Kill Program. The FY2027 adopted budget allocated $76,000 to kill deer.
$151,000 + $76,000 = $227,000.
This money could and should have been used for a non-lethal deer fertility control program.
The Arlington County Government fosters the preservation of human rights and protection of human life from violence. Killing deer to protect the environment is contradictory to Arlington County's proclamation of establishing a respectful and peaceful community where violence is not tolerated.
Our community, both humans and animals, is entitled to a life free of violence. The Arlington Deer Kill Program is devoid of empathy, compassion, and intellect. It neglects meaningful, reasonable, and long-term solutions.
Sharpshooting deer undermines the peacefulness of the Arlington community and normalizes violence as a solution for conflict resolution. It reduces empathy for sentient beings and standardizes killing over long-term, sustainable coexistence.
Lethal violence committed against deer in Arlington is deviating our community’s attitude away from reverence, compassionate living, and good stewardship of nature.
Deer are not pests. Deer are not a nuisance. Deer are not our enemy. We are not at war with deer.
Deer are living members of the biological community and are an important part of our ecosystem. Stewards of nature need to defend and advocate for all aspects of nature equally. Together we can protect deer and other wild creatures to actively heal our environment without resorting to killing.
The negative perception of deer disseminated by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, naturalists, and conservationists has led to the senseless vilification of and violence against deer in Arlington. It has created a culture of killing that is not acceptable.
As our elected leaders, the Arlington County Board is directly accountable to Arlington residents. It's their duty to ensure our priorities are not compromised by the external influences of other municipalities and special interest groups.
People are at fault for damaging nature and biodiversity loss. It is imperative that we address the human factors that negatively impact our ecosystems, such as pollution, climate change, land development, and habitat destruction.
Our community policies should be shaped by Arlington citizens who live and pay taxes here. Local wildlife policies should reflect our values and high regard for animal welfare.
The Arlington County Board must prioritize ecosystem health and the lives of deer in our community. Our goal should be to reduce and resolve wildlife-human conflicts and environmental problems humanely.
We want the Arlington County Government to establish a principle and policy that recognizes deer and all wildlife as an integral part of Arlington’s natural environment and promotes peaceful coexistence.
