We Won

Cape Girardeau’s first ever referendum has succeeded!  Thanks to all of you for your dedication, donations, and hard work.  We are so grateful and so proud of our community.  I hope we will stay in touch and continue to help Cape Girardeau live in harmony with our wildlife and beautiful natural surroundings. 
 
With great respect and appreciation. 
Steve and Jenny

Cape Girardeau’s first referendum will either succeed or fail at the polls April 2.

Please VOTE YES to repeal the city council’s deer hunting ordinance.

Let’s turn out in large numbers to show that Cape Girardeau’s citizens care.  We care about safety, we care about doing the right thing, we care about responsible government.

A successful referendum will show that DEMOCRACY WORKS.  We, the people, can veto a bad ordinance.

Keep Cape Safe will meet Thursday, March 7, at 6:30 pm at the Cape Girardeau Public Library (Penzel Room).  Our signs are ready, and we need to continue pulling together to get our message out by the April 2 vote.

As you may know, the drive-by deer count will be discussed at the regular city council meeting March 4 at 7 pm.

Thanks to all who have contributed so generously to Keep Cape Safe.

Steve

Keep Cape Safe will meet Tuesday, 2/12/13, at 6:30 pm in the Geraldine Hirsch Room at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.  Please join us and help win Cape Girardeau’s first ever referendum.

We the people can repeal a reckless, cruel ordinance by voting YES TO REPEAL on April 2.

Donations please to: Keep Cape Safe
P.O. Box 1004
Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702 – 1004

Secret from washington DC deer creek group

After our firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of several D.C. residents and the animal protection organization In Defense of Animals, the National Park Service has agreed to drop its plans to begin killing white-tailed deer in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. this December.  Under an agreement reached with the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that was filed on October 25, 2012, the parties have asked the Court to rule on the matter by March 15, 2013, before which the Park Service has agreed not to kill any of the 157 deer that were otherwise slated for death by gunfire or arrows.  The Court has set oral argument in the matter for March 4, 2013 at 3:00pm.

Cape Girardeau’s first ever referendum will be on the April 2 ballot.

Please participate in our democratic process.  If the referendum fails, we will see the reckless and cowardly shooting of semi-tame deer within the city limits.

Please remember to vote YES for safety rather than recklessness.

Please vote YES for tolerance and kindness rather than cruelty.

Please vote YES to repeal the unsafe, cruel, misguided deer hunting ordinance.

For now, we have to work hard to make sure the referendum succeeds.  Keep Cape Safe will meet Thursday, 1//31/13 at 6:30 pm in the G. Hirsch Room at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

Please join us.

Folks pushing for urban deer hunting in Cape Girardeau seem surprised that so many citizens are against it.  What’s surprising, really, is that some city officials failed to think about all the disadvantages: the potential for public controversy, public safety issues, the wounding and crippling of deer, the problem of unretrieved and arrow-struck deer, low efficiency rates, and various humane concerns.

     Bow hunting results in crippling rates from 40 – 60 percent (Gregory 2005, Nixon et al. 2001, Moen 1989, Cadaver 1988, Boydston and Gore 1987, Langenau 1986, Gladfelter 1983, Stormer et al. 1979, Downing 1971).  If we fail to repeal the city council’s bow hunting ordinance, we WILL have wounded deer coming into our yards.  Surely this is NOT the kind of town we want.

Frequently asked questions

What did the city council finally decide to do?
    They passed the ordinance with a 4-3 vote on July 16.  It will allow deer hunting in Cape from September 15 through January 15 —– for 4 months each year.
    In the haste of a majority to allow hunting in September, the need for a deer count was discounted.    Thus, they are promoting urban hunting as a sport, NOT deer management,
    The ordinance allows target practice year-round and that has nothing to do with managing deer.
What is wrong with the council’s decision – wasn’t it a fair and open process?
    Several council members voted to purposeful delay the final vote until they would have a majority present to pass the ordinance.  Without the delay, it would not have passed.
    By adding amendments right before the final vote, citizens did not know what the final ordinance would be and were denied a chance to comment on the final version.
Won’t hunting solve Cape’s deer problems?
    The city council has approved hunting without knowing what the population density is – so there is no way to measure success of any initiative.
    Unlike other cities that have faced this issue, our leaders did not formally survey the citizens to determine an acceptable number of deer.
    There are other things that can and should be tried before killing the deer – the no-feed ordinance and deer crossing signs were a start.  Exceptions to the fencing ordinance and lower speed limits in areas of greatest concern could also help.
    Even just one deer can be a nuisance to some people.  And nothing is going to get rid of every deer in Cape Girardeau.
    Science has shown a “rebound effect”; decrease a population and the survivors reproduce more quickly.
What is the downside of allowing Bow Hunting in the city?
    Discharge of weapons has been banned from the city for decades for a reason – they can hurt and kill people and domestic animals.  Recently, a great grandmother in St Louis was shot in the face WHILE INSIDE HER HOUSE by someone target practicing 300 feet away.  
    It is not humane.  Studies have shown that 50% of deer hit by a hunter’s arrow are crippled rather than killed.   
    Few deer drop immediately; most run – and could very well end up running onto someone else’s property or into the streets.
But doesn’t the ordinance include safety provisions?
Not nearly enough to be safe.  For example:
    Hunters are not required to pass a skills test –– experience is not necessary.  
    Hunters are not required to notify city officials when and where they may be hunting.  This complicates the city’s ability to enforce the ordinance.
    Only in limited situations do property owners have to let their neighbors know there will be hunting.
    There is no limit on the number of hunters.
    Hunting is not limited to any particular area of the city; every neighborhood is at risk.
    Even on the large lots, there is no requirement for hunters to locate toward the center of the property, away from the neighbors.
    The distance requirements, some of which can be waived by a property owner, are arbitrary and will be difficult to enforce.
    They can hunt from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset.
    Under certain circumstances, children of any age can hunt.  
    Hunters are not required to carry liability insurance.
    Unlike Columbia, this is NOT a managed hunt on public land.  And unlike Kansas City, Cape’s ordinance ALLOWS hunting on residential property.    

 Bow hunting will not reduce the deer population of Cape Girardeau.  Bow hunting is nothing more than a recreational form of hunting.  It is extremely ineffective and will not remove enough deer to have any long-term impact on the deer population.  In fact, bow hunting may actually increase the local deer population through compensatory reproduction.  It will probably cause a number of unintended consequences – eg. wounded deer traumatizing residents and children and   increased deer car collisions.

     Allowing bow hunting in Cape Girardeau will only turn our safe community into a private hunting preserve that will threaten the safety of our families, children, and pets.

Twenty two published scientific studies indicate the average wounding rate for bow hunting is greater than 50 percent.  More than one out of every two deer shot are never retrieved.  Many of these studies were conducted by state wildlife agencies.

The facts are indisputable.  Bow hunting is extremely ineffective and inhumane and subject countless deer to great misery before death.  In addition, these wounded deer will be dying in residents’ yards traumatizing children and adults alike and running into roads, increasing car – deer collisions.

Will Cape Girardeau City be liable for any damages or deaths caused by their ordinance to allow the use of lethal weapons in our densely populated community?  This ordinance is reckless and negligent, and an accident waiting to happen.  Who is liable when an arrow wounded, panicked deer runs out into the street causing a car accident that kills a child or another occupant in the car?

We find no honor or hunting credibility in killing (we cannot call it hunting) semi-tame deer in a suburban setting.  This is a cowardly act that a man of honor would not participate in.

Keep Cape Safe had many more signatures than required for a referendum on Cape Girardeau’s controversial deer hunting ordinance long before the 40 day deadline.

A lot of folks saw our signs at the polling places on August 7 and said, “We came just to sign this petition.” People obviously care, and the vast majority are against deer hunting in the City of Cape Girardeau.

Keep Cape Safe has been listening to citizens.  Most city council members have NOT been listening to their constituents on this important issue.

Members of our group have tried for nearly a year to get city leaders to realize that the urban hunting ordinance would be bad for Cape Girardeau and is out of step with the community.

We believe elected officials should be responsive to what citizens want and fiscally responsible as well.  For the city council to fail to repeal an ordinance that so many citizens believe is unsafe and wrong would not be responsive to what citizens want.  Spending taxpayers’ money on a special election would not be fiscally responsible.

We will win at the polls if the city council takes it to that point.  We hope they are wiser than that.  On the bright side, some city council members realize the ordinance is unsafe and irresponsible and voted against it.

On the other hand, disappointment with the conduct and attitude of at least one representative has led folks to discuss a recall petition.

CITY COUNCIL, REPEAL THIS ORDINANCE!

It’s official.  Bow hunting of deer in Cape Girardeau has been suspended.  City Clerk Gayle Conrad has certified the Keep Cape Safe referendum petition.  There will be no bow hunting in Cape Girardeau this year.  This is the achievement of many dedicated citizens who collected more than 4,000 signatures to repeal the city council’s deer hunting ordinance.

Will there be deer hunting in Cape next year?  Our city council has 30 days to act.  They will vote (probably Oct. 1) to repeal the ordinance or put it on a ballot.  Surely they can see by now that most citizens do not want hunting in the city.  It would be amazingly irresponsible of them, really, to spend some $25,000 of taxpayers’ money on a ballot with a foregone conclusion.

CITY COUNCIL, REPEAL THIS ORDINANCE!

What are city council members thinking?

Did you know that in Missouri convicted felons are allowed to bow hunt?  Some of our city council members want to have convicted felons with bows and arrows hunting in our neighborhoods.

Some city council members are more responsible and oppose hunting in our city.  Safety of citizens is the most important responsibility of government.  It is certainly NOT to provide recreational hunting opportunities to individuals (including felons) who want to shoot semi-tame deer in an urban setting.

CITY COUCIL, REPEAL THIS ORDINANCE!

Cape Friends of Wildlife will meet at 6:30 pm September 27, in the Penzel Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

We have won a battle against hunting in the city but not the war.

The Cape Girardeau City Council, after only one meeting in September will have an emergency vote October 1 to repeal their bow hunting ordinance or have an election.

The problem is:

According to Cape Girardeau’s charter, the city council, “… shall meet regularly at least twice each month.”.  Instead, they opted to cancel the second meeting on September and go to Osage Beach and make this vote, “an emergency.”

The fact is, it will take five votes to repeal in an “emergency” vote vs. the usual four.

Why an emergency?

Is this legal?  Is it right ?

Why would they not meet twice in September as required by law?

Are they not once again manipulating the vote?

Unlike their slapdash approach, we have reasons, we have alternatives, we have plans.

KFVS12 asked in an online poll this week, “Are you for or against urban hunting in Cape Girardeau?”

43.1 percent voted FOR urban hunting.

56.9 percent voted AGAINST urban hunting.

The poll has now closed, and the results show once again that citizens do not want deer hunting in our city.

What part of NO do four city council members NOT understand?

Another win at the polls for Keep Cape Safe.  The Southeast Missourian asked, “Do you think the city council’s deer hunting ordinance will be overturned at the ballot box in April?”

The final results:  YES 64.4 percent (320 votes)
NO 35.6 percent (177 votes).

Thanks to all who voted.  These results show clearly that a large majority of citizens think bow hunting is not right in the City of Cape Girardeau.

 What the pro-hunting crowd never seems to realize is that this is also a quality of life issue.  Most urban/suburban residents do not want weapons, violence, blood, and death as part of their everyday lives.  People have emotions and sensibilities that should be taken into consideration.  To ignore that is to attempt to remove the human element from the equation.  They are imposing their hunting “lifestyle” on those of us who choose not to participate.

     They are exposing our children to this against our wishes.  They have no right to expose our children to a wounded, bleeding, suffering deer in the yard.

     Some activities are not appropriate or safe in a residential setting.  Most towns/cities have ordinances against discharging weapons because it is not safe.  It does not suddenly or even temporarily become safe or appropriate just because they have decided to kill the deer.