Recently the North Yarmouth selectmen changed the status of Old Town House Park to no hunting after allowing it in a previous vote. Their bias against hunting is obvious, as statistics show hunting is safer than any other sport nationally, including Ping-Pong.

The elitist bias of the Recreation Committee and the board, to deny the use of their park for two short months to those wishing to hunt there while others have access to its resources 12 months a year, shows how ill-informed they are regarding the facts. They have no clue.

Last year an IF&W biologist explained the problems of creating a no-hunting deer sanctuary and the resultant increase in deer-motor vehicle collisions and Lyme disease, but apparently our town fathers did not listen. At that time the biologist stated that healthy deer populations were 12-15 deer per square mile, while presently the North Yarmouth deer population is over 22 deer per square mile. That is a population that is not good for the residents or the deer herd. The result is more accidents, more cases of Lyme disease for residents, who cannot raise a garden, grow apple trees or have certain shrubs on their property. Why do our town officials knowingly try to make it worse?

Yarmouth has allowed hunting in their Pratts Brook Park for many years without a problem and they recognized that hunters had as much right to access as the public at large, at least for a couple of months.

George A. Fogg
North Yarmouth