Since moving to Victoria two years ago, my husband and I have had many encounters with deer.
We had deer in Qualicum Beach, but perhaps because they weren’t “trapped” in a city they were not the problem that they are here.
The property we purchased in Oak Bay recently had the garden completely replanted with very expensive plants and trees. Some of the trees died from the ring barking caused by the deer.
All the trees still living bare the scars from antlers.
It goes without saying that they ravaged the plants and threatened us in our yard when we tried to chase them out.
Last summer we put up a fence. From time to time we have found evidence of their continued intrusions and even once found a young deer in the yard, prompting us to find and block their entrance.
It has been extremely frustrating and expensive and most people probably cannot afford to put up a fence.
Cheryl Rimmer
Oak Bay