12/24/2008 7:00:00 AM Letter: Fence a danger to wildlife
Editor, Leader:
I enjoy living near Fort Worden. It is beautiful and a wonderful place to walk and get some exercise. The scenery changes by the hour. Whether it is the cloud formations, Mount Baker, the wild animals or the tidal surge, it is always beautiful and always different.
It is such a pleasure to see the deer wandering freely throughout the park and town. I have considered seeing "one a day" as kind of a good-luck sign. I was horrified to hear of a deer that was caught on the cemetery fence earlier this summer. The thought bothered me for days. Then, on Nov. 21, I was taking my usual morning walk with my husband and came across a small deer, crumpled in a pile, lying against the cemetery fence. It was terrible. I had heard the gunshot the night before as the police put this animal out of its misery. I had no idea it would still be there in the morning for all the walkers, and then a group of schoolchildren, to view. It was still there when I drove to work at 8:45 a.m.
It must have been a horrific death for this young deer to land on top of the fence. How long did it wiggle, stuck on the fence, before it died? Why do we need this type of fence protecting the dead? There is no reason for it. There is an unlocked gate so that anyone can enter this graveyard, so why are there so many deadly spikes guarding this grass? This should not be tolerated and should be removed. I would do it myself if I would not be thrown into jail. Take my dad's old truck (he needs a new one anyway) and plow that fence right over.
How much work would it take to solder a new flat surface on top of these spikes? Or remove the spikes down to the flat top railing? There must be some simple solution. I still walk by that fence every day. It gives me a horrible feeling.
KATHY DECKER
Port Townsend
Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, December 29, 2008
Article comment by:
Skip Knudtson
It would be even easier to use a pair of wirecutters on the fence, and save the lives of animals. Just get rid of it all together!
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