Don't shoot strange-looking escaped deer, Ontario sanctuary urges

[10x]

In Alberta, livestock is still considered to be owned by the original owner, even if it has gotten out of a compound or field, and considered their property.
Might be different in other provinces....
Cat

And the owner of at large livestock is responsible for any damages done by the livestock.

These animals are exotic wildlife. They may interbreed with the local deer and introduce genes, parasites, and disease that could decimate the local deer herd. Even by eating and leaving scat piles, or if one gets killed and eaten by predators any exotic parasites may get into population.

We have Chronic Wasting Disease in Alberta. There are strong indications that this disease was brought in by game farmers importing infected animals from Colorado then spread to the wildlife. But like BSE know one knows the transmission vector yet, or whether it is endemic in the population and brought out by an environmental factor, or whether diseases like this happen from a spontanious mutation in the virus or prion world of almost alive long chain molecules.

 

[catnthehatt]

And the owner of at large livestock is responsible for any damages done by the livestock.

These animals are exotic wildlife. They may interbreed with the local deer and introduce genes, parasites, and disease that could decimate the local deer herd. Even by eating and leaving scat piles, or if one gets killed and eaten by predators any exotic parasites may get into population.

We have Chronic Wasting Disease in Alberta. There are strong indications that this disease was brought in by game farmers importing infected animals from Colorado then spread to the wildlife. But like BSE know one knows the transmission vector yet, or whether it is endemic in the population and brought out by an environmental factor, or whether diseases like this happen from a spontanious mutation in the virus or prion world of almost alive long chain molecules.

No denial of that from me, I was just stating that part of livestock ownership!
Cat

 

[Pathfinder]

I think that if those Fallow bucks end up on private land they will likely be hung up in a private barn......it would be interesting to know what the reg's say about these exotics.

 

[Lazy Ike]

I've got to believe there is going to be a "Look at the weird buck I shot!" thread somewhere on the interweb.

 

[sheephunter]

I've got to believe there is going to be a "Look at the weird buck I shot!" thread somewhere on the interweb.

Sad but likely very true!

 

[Canadian Bush Wacker]

I sure would like to be a fly on the wall, when someone takes one in for a wall mount.

 

[Gargoyle]

We've had a few of those get loose around here in years past. Had a pic of one a few years ago on one of my trail cams here ( I'll try to look it up) From what I was told down here if it's non-native / possibly invasive then it's open season. We've got enough problems with invasive species from other sources, figure it's like gobies, it's actually illegal to let them go!

We've had lots of oddities around here in the last few years though.. I guess I should clarify where "here" is... Southern Ontario, between Windsor and London. We've had a Moose stroll down here two years ago, same year a bull elk got loose from a farm and now apparenly a young male black bear is roaming the section of bush that I hunt... fun stuff.

 

[pottsy]

This is an interesting situation.

Exotic species... on the loose. hmmmm...

Do they even qualify as livestock and thus get the benefit of the Livestock protection rules? I doubt it.

 

[sheephunter]

This is an interesting situation.

Exotic species... on the loose. hmmmm...

Do they even qualify as livestock and thus get the benefit of the Livestock protection rules? I doubt it.

Really depends where you live but when you think about it....all cows, horses, sheep and goats are exotics too.....not sure where you'd draw the line.

 

[smokin'stoegie]

They are all MALES!!!

Well its like this, the male deer meets a girl deer and.... never mind, have someone explain it to you.

My original question was whether these deer would inter-breed with wild deer.

 

[sheephunter]

They are all MALES!!!

Well its like this, the male deer meets a girl deer and.... never mind, have someone explain it to you.

My original question was whether these deer would inter-breed with wild deer.

Not sure if it's even possible but where populations of different deer species co-exist, mule deer/whitetails, for example......hybridization is EXTREMELY rare so I suspect the answer to your question in no!

 

[10x]

Not sure if it's even possible but where populations of different deer species co-exist, mule deer/whitetails, for example......hybridization is EXTREMELY rare so I suspect the answer to your question in no!

It is a great deal less rare in some areas where Mule deer and Whitetails co-exist. Whitetail bucks are very aggressive and will breed Mule Deer does.

 

[Shrek]

Not sure if it's even possible but where populations of different deer species co-exist, mule deer/whitetails, for example......hybridization is EXTREMELY rare so I suspect the answer to your question in no!

Really? You have never seen (or know someone who has seen) a hybrid deer? It happens! I haven't seen one with my own eyes, but I have seen a white-tailed buck following mulie does before!

Fallow deer are listed in the BC synopsis as a separate tag from black/white tail deer. I don't know if they are open or LEH though.

My core instructor has harvested them and mentioned that they are the best tasting of the three species.

 

[sheephunter]

It is a great deal less rare in some areas where Mule deer and Whitetails co-exist. .

That makes sense as they'd have a tough time hybridizing where they don't co-exist.....

Didn't say it never happens.....just very very very infrequently. Tales of hybrids are greatly over exagerated. And yes, I live in the heart of a mixed population.

 

[sjemac]

They are all MALES!!!

Well its like this, the male deer meets a girl deer and.... never mind, have someone explain it to you.

My original question was whether these deer would inter-breed with wild deer.

Sigh! A Fallow deer has as much chance of interbreeding with a white tail or mule deer as YOU do of impregnating a Chimp (you could try I guess but the chimp would still laugh like all the other girls).


Fallow deer (Dama dama) and whitetails (Odocoileus virginianus ) or mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) cannot interbreed and produce viable reproducible offspring.

Whitetails and mulies can interbreed because they are close to each other genetically. Fallow deer are most closely related to the Irish Elk which is extinct.

Even if they could. The offspring would be like a MULE (horse/donkey cross) or a LIGER (lion/tiger cross) and would be sterile.

If the first scientific names of the animals aren't the same then interbreeding is extremely unlikely. Offspring that could reproduce themselves is virtually impossible.

How many elk/mule deer crosses have you heard of? None? Good reason for that. They aren't even close genetically and can't naturally reproduce.


A little basic knowledge of biology is a powerful thing.


So the still stands.

 

[sheephunter]

Really? You have never seen (or know someone who has seen) a hybrid deer? It happens! I haven't seen one with my own eyes, but I have seen a white-tailed buck following mulie does before!

Most deer that people think are hybrids aren't............as I said, they are EXTREMEY rare. Never said never.......but EXTREMELY rare!

 

[trevj]

I sure would like to be a fly on the wall, when someone takes one in for a wall mount.

We almost had one of the French guys in Moose Jaw convinced to take "the biggest whitetail I've ever seen" to the antler scoring night, when someone who liked him a bit more than we did finally told him the difference between whitetail and mulie antlers. This was a while after the episode with the "biggest snow goose ever" when he shot the swan.

There are enough guys out there workin' on a limited if any level of actual identification skill set, that I would have to bet that the deer would be goners more likely than not.

Just another set of non-typical antlers on a fawn.

"Musta bin a fawn. Why else woody had spots?"

Cheers
Trev

 

[10x]

That makes sense as they'd have a tough time hybridizing where they don't co-exist.....

Didn't say it never happens.....just very very very infrequently. Tales of hybrids are greatly over exagerated. And yes, I live in the heart of a mixed population.

Hybrids are rare (or rarely recognized) in Northern Alberta as well. Local biologists get calls from hunters with the question "what have I got?" It usually turns out to be a mule deer. The local biologists use the location of the scent glands as the determining factor. High = mule deer, Low = whitetail deer, in between = hybrid. That being said I have seen a couple of mule deer does that had the scent glands in between but had all of the characteristics of a mule deer. Only DNA testing would confirm whether there was a hybrid in the ancestry or if the gland location was an anomaly.

 

[blargon]

DOUG, I'll let you know when the BBQ is.

 

[blargon]

Apparently there are only 4 loose now.

As a side note for everyone, the previous owner of the fallow deer farm, was letting people pay to shoot bucks and take the meat and antlers.