Letters

When a deer gets caught — as happened a few years ago — in the fitting room of a Main Street fashion boutique, you know that the situation has reached an absurd state of affairs that requires nothing less than a drastic intervention, meaning a reduction of the herd.

The issue has been allowed to get worse and worse. Years ago, at the first indication of overpopulation, it would have been easy to tackle the problem. But, I suppose, political inertia and special interests prevailed from one administration to the next.

I’m an animal rights advocate myself, and the daughter and granddaughter of men who looked forward each winter to the hunting season, which to them meant equal parts ancient “sport” and taking responsibility for the health of the herd — taking care that it remained robust, vigorous and healthy by keeping their numbers proportionate to the terrain they roamed.

The carcasses that these days line our streets in the early mornings are not an aesthetic enhancement — they are a graphic indictment of municipal failure. The village, and our new mayor (congratulations!), must, at long last, please, finally, intervene without delay before the next generation of fawns is born.

Heide LöfkenSouthampton Village