Friends of Animals was miffed—yet not surprised—to see an ad circulating online promoting the start of deer bow hunting season in our backyard of Darien, Connecticut.

The ad not only tells the marauders how to obtain licenses and how to find registered hunting properties; it calls for property hunters to register their own land, granting bow hunters access. The message is clear: if you take offense to helpless deer trying to survive in ever shrinking habitats, you can just as easily call in a deer killer who will ambush and pump an unsuspecting deer full of arrows—running after the bleeding animal for two miles before it drops and has its throat cut by the hunter.

It’s important to call these endeavors out for what they are: repulsive killing under the guise of “management.”

Deer are far too often treated like intruders in their own habitats; like nuisances to be dealt with. Friends of Animals hears the same trite, unsubstantiated arguments year after year: deer are causing automobile accidents, deer spread disease and deer are eating my plants and vegetables.

Friends of Animals has surveyed state wildlife departments regarding incidents in which drivers hit deer. Our findings indicate that shooting deer exacerbates the movement of deer during the mating season, for one thing. Notably, our study found a significant increase in the number of deer hit by cars during hunting season: October, November and December.

In the case of “deer spread Lyme disease,” exterminators would be hard pressed to provide evidence proving as much is true. There are studies that show the opposite — that ticks will look for other large hosts (deer don’t produce infected ticks) and be more likely to end up on humans if deer are reduced. A Penn State University study shows that deer exclusion in smaller areas is likely to amplify ticks and produce tick-borne disease hotspots where rodents, which produce infected ticks, are ubiquitous.

Similar research by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York found that white-footed mice are the most important hosts in producing infected ticks. Eastern chipmunks, short-tailed shrews and masked shrews also produce quite a few infected ticks.

And as far as your vegetables and other eatable plants like azaleas and hostas go,  gardeners can find deer repellent sprays in local garden centers that work remarkably well to repel deer. Fences that are more than 6 feet high also are deer barriers.

What’s never mentioned is an actual, humane alternative: coexistence. Communities like Darien should recognize that sharing space with wildlife doesn’t warrant a crisis. There are far too many humane alternatives to addressing deer interactions that don’t involve bloodletting for the so-called joy it gives less than 1% of Connecticut’s residents who enjoy stealing a beautiful animal’s life.