Millions lost

The booming white-tailed deer population in Portland is driving farmers to despair as their fields are ravaged, leaving them reeling from millions in losses annually as the invasive species roam unchecked.

Kendrick Thompson, a farmer in Industry, told The Gleaner that since last year, his one-and-a-half-acre farm, which he cultivates and supplies produce to market vendors and his neighbourhood shop, has been a source of food for the unwelcome mammals.

“As you plant di potato, dem just go an draw it out. And weh plant already, dem just go and eat it out. So mi even ‘fraid fi plant more a dat spot,” he lamented last week.

Estimating his losses so far at more than $200,000, the 71-year-old farmer said he has tried to set traps for the mammal, but his homemade inventions are no match for the stealth of the creatures.

A newborn fawn can stand in 20 minutes, walk one hour after birth, run a bit in 24 hours and outrun a man by the time it is five days old.

Blessed with good eyesight and exceptional hearing, the white-tailed deer are great jumpers, swimmers, and runners, reaching speeds of up to 58 kilometres per hour. In addition, they usually have a sense of smell 1,000 times better than humans and are able to smell people from over a mile away, if the wind is blowing in the right direction.

The white-tailed deer can cover a grazing range of 30 metres in one day. They feed mainly from before dawn until several hours later, and again from late afternoon until dusk; carrot and pumpkin are their favourite domestic crop. They rest or are inactive during daylight hours.

Native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America, the mammals are reproducing in great numbers in Jamaica because of the year-round buffet of lush vegetation, despite a severe drought, according to reports by the farmers.

“Dem kinda coming much closer to the homes dem, ‘cause dem usually deh much further in the woods, so mi nuh know if a [because] dem get nuff or wah, dem deh ‘bout di place yah,” Thompson said.

Anthony Noland, a farmer in Rock Hall, told The Gleaner that he has suffered losses of more than $5 million as the deer ravaged his carrot and potato crops in the last five years.

Stating that the mammal’s population has grown during that time, the 46-year-old, who sells his produce to market vendors, said he has come to accept them as part of the challenges of his line of work.

“Dem deh every weh, right ‘round di circle dem deh ... . More time mi bend (vex), but mi know seh a suh it go,” he said, while decrying the lack of assistance from the local agricultural authorities.

A similar experience is shared by Kevin Noland, a farmer of Swift River. He recalls going to his farm in the mornings and witnessing the plunder of the herbivore the night before.

“Dem come in like night time, and when yuh go back in the morning yuh see weh dem eat dung yuh farm – yuh potato, yuh yam – and kill dem,” he said.

“Yuh plant a crop a corn, dem nyam dung di whole a it. Dem nyam dung yuh potato and nah left it till it done ... . Pumpkin, dem eat it down. Dem eat both di pumpkin and the leaves,” he added, estimating his yearly loss to be more than $250,000.

He told The Gleaner that farmers in the community have to now bring their farms closer to their homes to better monitor them and abate the destruction.

Lenworth Fulton, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, believes the invasion of the white-tailed deer “should be treated in the same way we treat natural disasters”.

According to Fulton, the agriculture ministry, which he said has been helpful in similar situations, should create a system to assist farmers in recovering from the destruction caused to their farms by the invasive species.

“In the same way that the Ministry of Agriculture has made provision to assist farmers from things like the beet armyworm threat, [where] the Government helps farmers in controlling them to replace their crops, ... with the wild deer, the same thing can be done. ... The mechanism is there. What is lacking is a report, and RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) is responsible for doing that report,” he said.

Sheldon Scott, RADA parish manager for Portland, told The Gleaner that the agency is aware of the growth in the population of the white-tailed deer and that they have been causing damage to farms. However, he was unable to quantify the losses or scale of destruction.

He noted that the agency has been collaborating with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to control the mammals.

Meanwhile, NEPA, the entity responsible for wildlife conservation, told The Gleaner that research is ongoing to determine the population of the white-tailed deer in Jamaica, noting that their numbers have increased significantly since the escape of three does and three bucks from Somerset Falls in 1988.

The agency pointed to a 2003 survey, which estimated that there were 182 white-tailed deer on the island, but shared that there is “an expectation that there are considerably more at present”.

“Since 2023, the agency has been gathering information using several techniques to determine the geographical spread, number, sex and age of the deer population to allow us to plan effectively for their management,” NEPA said. “To date, the information shows that the population has grown and their geographical spread has expanded. However, the population is still confined to the Portland area and has not spread to any other parishes.”

The agency noted that currently, there is no legislation concerning white-tailed deer, and because it is an invasive species, it is not illegal to hunt or trap deer.

However, legislation prohibits any form of hunting within the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, where the deer has been sighted.

Due to the various inherent safety risks and health concerns regarding hunting the deer, NEPA said it does not encourage hunting at this time.

“The agency has started dialogue with various stakeholders to develop a management and control strategy to reduce the population in the near future,” it emphasised.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com