Editorial: Eureka should enforce its animal control ordinance to control deer

Does Eureka Springs want to get the reputation as being the Lyme disease capital of Arkansas? Although the entire state reported only nine cases of Lyme disease this past year, two people in the vicinity of deer feeding operations in Eureka Springs got Lyme disease -- a disease that can debilitate or even kill.

Sometimes the person bitten may not even see the tick (particularly tiny ticks) and won't know what caused the bite. Unless it is diagnosed and treated soon after the bite, the possibilities of treating Lyme disease effectively are greatly diminished. Once the disease is established, it is difficult to eradicate.

Diseases caused by ticks that feed on deer blood can cause other diseases like babesiosis and ehrlichiosis, which can cause serious illness or even death.

Eureka Springs has a huge deer overpopulation problem that can be linked to recreational deer feeding primarily from bed and breakfast (B&B) establishments that consider the deer an amenity for guests. One B&B in town even has pictures of triplet fawns on its Web site, not seeming to appreciate the irony of advertising that their feeding operation is leading to an overpopulation of deer. When deer are fed corn, which is not a part of their natural diet, they have more multiple births and a higher survival rate.

The overpopulation of deer also causes traffic hazards, including a fatal motorcycle-deer collision on Roark Rd. The deer also cause huge amounts of damage to both public and private gardens. The deer feeding combined with a lack of natural predators and a ban on hunting means the deer pressure has gotten more and more intense.

Deer feeding is also harmful to the deer as it can lead to the spread of disease and parasites. An overpopulation of deer harms the environment by reducing the diversity of wildflowers and other plants.

Outlawing of deer feeding has been discussed in the past with the City Council deciding not to act, stating it doesn't want to pit neighbor against neighbor. But the fact is, there is already an animal control ordinance on the books that, if enforced, would address this serious health and public safety threat.

The animal ordinance covers any wild or domestic animal owned, kept or harbored, and requires these animals be licensed. "An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more," the ordinance states. Some B&Bs feed and water the deer daily, so they meet this definition.

Public nuisance means any animal which molests passers-by or passing vehicles (a deer collision can certainly "molest" a passing vehicle), and damages private or public property. The ordinance states no owner shall fail to exercise proper care and control of his/her animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. Any animal found running at large within the city is declared to be a nuisance and impounded.

The ordinance also states, "Any person owning, keeping, harboring or having custody of any animal over three months of age within the city must obtain a license." People receiving a license must show the animals have received rabies vaccinations. And the license can be revoked if the animals damage public or private property, or are otherwise deemed a public nuisance.

"Unrestrained dogs and nuisance animals shall be taken by the police, animal control officers or humane officers and impounded in an animal shelter and there confined in an humane manner," the ordinance states.

Any person violating any provision of this ordinance can be found guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500. With some B&Bs feeding dozens of deer per day, that fine could really add up.

Eureka Springs should not have selective enforcement of its laws. This law should be enforced. City Council should notify citizens of its intent to enforce the law. And this should happen before word gets out that a visit to Eureka Springs could mean going home with a debilitating tick disease.

Eureka could be in line to get the kind of publicity that Nantucket, Mass. got recently in the New York Times when an article was published "Tick-Borne Illnesses Have Nantucket Considering Some Deer-Based Solutions."

The article said Nantucket's laboratory confirmed cases of tick disease doubled in 2009, up from 257 to 411. One martial arts instructor actually contracted both Lyme disease and babesiosis simultaneously.

"And health officials say some cases are not reported, some Lyme diseases diagnoses are made clinically, and some visitors' ailments are diagnosed off-island," the Times article states.

The article quotes Richard Ray, Nantucket's health department director, as saying, "The numbers of tick-borne disease are so off the graph, and it all comes back to the deer."

The solution is simple. Stop feeding the deer. And if you don't, then face being convicted of a misdemeanor and fines of up to $500 per animal.

-- Becky Gillette