Let coyotes, not hunters, control Valley Forge deer, animal-rights advocates say

For months they've run on the periphery of the debate over the plan to shoot deer at Valley Forge national park: Coyotes. A small number have taken residence inside the park, among the "urban coyotes" that dwell in places from New York to Chicago to Beverly Hills, Calif. Now, animal-rights advocates are arguing that the number of coyotes in Valley Forge should be encouraged to grow, as a way to provide a predatory check on the deer and eliminate any cause for gunfire. "It would serve as a natural form of population control," said Matthew McLaughlin, director of the Pennsylvania chapter of Friends of Animals. Park officials say it wouldn't work - certainly not fast enough to help a forest that's being devoured by deer. Next month, park managers intend to proceed with a plan to eliminate 86 percent of the deer during the next four years. To some people, the idea of using coyotes to reduce the herd seems far-fetched, if not risky, given how many people jog and hike in the park...more

For me, this is a tough call.

I'm not sure which I dislike most: coyotes or joggers.