Assemblymember Pamela Hunter (D-Syracuse) announced that she held a press conference with Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-Staten Island) on Tuesday in Albany to promote legislation she authored to combat deer overpopulation and the spread of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease (A.6818-A, A.8366-A and A.8646-A). Both Hunter’s and Titone’s Assembly districts are experiencing rapid deer population growth, increasing the likelihood of traffic accidents and damage to property and the environment in urban and suburban areas.

“Deer overpopulation is one of our region’s top public health and safety concerns and has certainly contributed to the spread of Lyme disease and other vector-borne illness throughout the state,” Hunter said. “These measures will help make wildlife management easier by opening up state resources for research and effective planning.”

“We all know someone who was treated for Lyme disease but remained ill after treatment,” said Hudson Valley Lyme Disease Association Chairperson Jill Auerbach. “In 2015, the estimated treatment cost of Lyme disease in the United States was $1.3 billion, while the estimated total cost burden to society was well over $3 billion– in New York State alone the cost was $476,300,000. Those estimates do not include all the other tick-borne diseases. For instance, babesia has affected our blood supply and has sickened and killed some transfusion recipients.”

The measures that Hunter and Titone are fighting for include legislation that would require the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to report on deer management techniques in urban and suburban areas, which passed the Assembly (A.6818-A); expand the definition of invasive species to include infestations that are considered harmful to human and environmental health, including insects that carry vector-borne illnesses (A.8366-A); and authorize the DEC to allow proven-effective methods for wildlife damage control by localities and professional organizations (A.8646-A).

“As my community on Staten Island and those throughout the state affected by wildlife overpopulation devise plans to get it under control, these measures will help foster state and local collaboration to protect our communities and our families,” Titone said.

“Lyme and other tick-borne diseases can have devastating effects on individuals, who often suffer for years before being diagnosed. In Syracuse and Onondaga County, the overpopulation of deer that carry ticks puts the public at risk for these illnesses. Better management of deer populations in urban and suburban areas would help mitigate this problem,” said Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida), sponsor of the Senate bill (S.5967-A/A.6818-A).

“By expanding the definition of invasive species, we will be broadening our efforts to include the study of ticks carrying vector borne diseases within the scope of the Invasive Species Council. With New York State at the epicenter of those who contract Lyme and tick-borne diseases, we must do all that we can to coordinate efforts to combat ticks which present a growing threat that reach the far corners of the state,” said Senator Sue Serino (R,C,I-Hyde Park), sponsor of the Senate bill (S.6084-A/A.8366-A).

"Wildlife populations pose a real threat to aviation operations in and around airports. There were 1,971 aircraft-wildlife strikes reported to the FAA over the past five years. New York airports had the highest number of deer strikes among those in neighboring states. This legislation seeks to make it clear that certain effective deer management techniques remain available by state permit in a strictly controlled manner (A.8646-A). The New York Aviation Management Association supports this measure and urges its enactment into law,” said Albany International Airport Assistant Manager John P. DelBalso.

Parts of DeWitt and eastern Onondaga County have 90 deer per square mile, while rural areas have only 8 to 10 deer per square mile.1 According to Hunter’s deer management constituent survey, 89 percent of respondents from the area agree that action must be taken to reduce the presence of deer in the region and 70 percent said they would support a combination of lethal and non-lethal methods to manage the deer population.

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