The people have spoken and they want to keep hunting in Section 31 of Oxford Township.
‘Once this starts in this little section, it’s going to go there, there, there, there and pretty soon, guess what? You’re locked up and you’re done,? said Alex McKinnon, a 28-year resident of the township.
After listening to 19 people speak against the proposed ban at last week’s public hearing, township officials voted 7-0 to ‘respectfully decline the request to prohibit hunting in Section 31.?
‘We have state laws that are in effect on where you can shoot, how you can shoot and I think that’s the only law we need,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn.
Residents of Section 31 and elsewhere in the township packed the public hearing to the point where it was standing room only to give their input about a proposed ban on hunting with firearms and discharging them.
‘I don’t want you to take my hunting rights or have the possibility of it,? said resident Mike Kubiak.
The proposed ban would have affected an area of roughly one square mile bounded by W. Drahner Rd. to the north, S. Coats Rd. to the east, Stanton Rd. to the south and Baldwin Rd. to the west.
Resident Ann McKinley was the one who originally approached the township requesting the ban.
McKinley explained at the hearing that she just wanted firearm deer hunting prohibited in her section, not activities like target shooting.
‘I didn’t understand and didn’t realize that it had to be all or nothing,? she said. ‘That if I said no deer hunting that it included all hunting, all weapons and all discharge of firearms for whatever reason. So, that really wasn’t my initial intent.?
McKinley maintained that, due to increasing density, there’s only ‘a small amount of this area (that) is still safe for hunting without hunting too close to someone’s home?
‘It was only about safety and nothing about gun control,? said McKinley, referring to her request for a ban.
But most of the residents opposed to the ban said Section 31 primarily consists of parcels 5 acres or larger and the Twin Lakes subdivision, which is more densely populated, has a nearly 100-acre buffer between it and the surrounding properties. No hunting is allowed in this buffer area.
‘To say there’s not much back there to hunt is completely wrong,? said Todd Eveland, who lives in Twin Lakes. ‘We are out in the country. It’s a very quaint area.?
Most of those who spoke against the ban talked about how safe hunting really is and how responsible Michigan’s more than 2 million licensed hunters are.
‘I’ve been hunting all these years and it’s not dangerous, it’s safe,? said resident Tom Claycomb, who’s been hunting for 63 years.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, last year there were four fatal hunting incidents and 31 non-fatal, two of which occurred in Oakland County while squirrel hunting.
‘I’m actually here on behalf of my husband who is an avid hunter,? said Lisa Blitchok, who owns 5 acres on Coats Road. ‘My husband (Matthew), along with other hunters in Michigan, is licensed and educated about hunter safety. He takes all the necessary precautions every time he hunts.?
It was noted many deer hunters shoot from tree stands so they’re aiming at the ground.
Even though he’s a hunter, resident Buck Cryderman expressed his concerns about some research done by the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.
According to Cryderman, the Army’s research indicating that a 12-gauge shotgun slug ? commonly used to hunt deer in southern Michigan because rifles are not permitted by state law below U.S. 10 ? ‘under some conditions, it will carry a mile.?
‘I think that we’re considering shotguns with slugs a lot safer then they are,? he said.
Some residents opposed the proposed ban arguing that controlling the deer population through hunting is vital to helping reduce the number of car crashes involving deer.
According to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, in 2005, a total of 92 crashes involving deer occurred in Oxford Township and Village. That number increased to 101 last year.
Resident Larry Roesner said he’s seen four dead deer laying on the side of Oxford Road within a 3?-mile stretch. ‘There’s too many deer in Oxford Township,? he said.
It was noted that Rochester Hills, where all hunting is banned, had the highest number of deer crashes in the entire county, a combined 382 for 2005 and 2006.
Hunting deer is also important to combating the spread of Lyme disease, which is carried by infected black-legged or deer ticks.
‘I think deer need to be controlled,? said Marci McKinnon, a township resident who’s had Lyme disease for 31 years. ‘The more deer, the more tick and we have Lyme coming into our area.?
McKinnon said ‘drag tests? have been conducted here in which pieces of flannel were dragged through the woods to collect ticks for testing. ‘We have (Lyme disease) in Oxford Township,? she said. ‘Keep shooting those deer.?
Beyond hunting, some residents were concerned banning the discharge of firearms would interfere with their right and ability to protect their property.
Cathy McGeen, who owns a 9-acre spread on S. Coats Rd. in Section 31, opposed the ban because she needs to be able to protect her horses from coyotes, feral dogs and burrowing animals, whose holes can cause a horse to break a leg.
She also needs to be able to shoot skunks, racoons, possums and other ‘rodent-type critters? who may be carrying Equine Protozoan Myelitis (EPM), a neurological disease that attacks a horse’s brain or spinal cord, damages the central nervous system and causes a wide variety of symptoms such as lameness, instability, scuffing or dragging of the toes and loss of major muscle mass.
EMP is caused by a a single-celled parasite. Horses are infected by eating feed or drinking water contaminated by the feces of an infected wild animal. ‘I’ve already lost one horse to this disease years ago, I don’t want to lose (another),? McGeen said.
McGeen also didn’t want to lose her son’s ability to target shoot his .22 rifle on the range they have set up on their property. Her son is a Boy Scout who earned his rifle merit badge and a member of the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club’s Junior Rifle Club. Her husband is an Eagle Scout.
‘We are very familiar with all of the gun safety rules,? she said, noting he always shoots ‘parallel to our property lines.?