Fallow Deer Hunt in Ontario may be a possibility in the near future.
A couple of months ago my brother, who lives in Cambridge Ontario, spotted some Fallow Deer in a wooded area when he was on a drive a few minutes from home. He was able to recognize them as Fallow Deer because of the large antlers and white spots on the body. Immediately after returning home, he contacted the MNR to inform them about the find.
After a lengthy conversation with one of the officers, he learned that the deer had escaped from a nearby farm a couple of years earlier. The farm has since shut down, however, due to the numerous fines inflicted by the lack of confinement for the deer. During his conversation with the officer, my brother asked about the potential for hunting the deer. The officer proceeded to tell him that even though the deer are considered an invasive species, and that there is no real season for these critters –the possibility of hunting them was not very good because the deer are keeping to private property which doesn’t allow hunting. Another question that was asked of the officer was the potential for cross breeding, the officer did state that this was not possible.
I had no real reason to doubt my brother and sister-in-law about the deer, but I guess that it’s just one of those things you don’t think about until you have a chance to see it with your own eyes. This past Sunday I was at my brother’s home for a visit. I was standing in the yard having a cigarette when I spotted the deer myself running through a wooded section along highway 8. Immediately, we grabbed the camera and jumped in the truck to try and get a picture.
We caught up with the deer but they remained too deep into the tree line to get a good picture. We followed them for well over a kilometer but still the deer wouldn’t stop running so we could get a picture of them. In all, this time, there were 3 does –one of which was pure white, another that was a silvery blonde colour, and the third one was a brown-red with white spots.
For my brother, this was his third opportunity to see Fallow deer so close to his home; and in each instance they were never the same ones. So now you have to ask yourself several questions:
How many of these critters are actually at large?
What will the MNR do to eradicate these animals that they admittedly considered as invasive?
Was the officer correct when he claimed that Fallow and Whitetails are not able to cross breed.
And lastly, will the population of these animals ever get to the point of a bounty hunt or even an actual hunting season in itself?
Any comments?
A couple of months ago my brother, who lives in Cambridge Ontario, spotted some Fallow Deer in a wooded area when he was on a drive a few minutes from home. He was able to recognize them as Fallow Deer because of the large antlers and white spots on the body. Immediately after returning home, he contacted the MNR to inform them about the find.
After a lengthy conversation with one of the officers, he learned that the deer had escaped from a nearby farm a couple of years earlier. The farm has since shut down, however, due to the numerous fines inflicted by the lack of confinement for the deer. During his conversation with the officer, my brother asked about the potential for hunting the deer. The officer proceeded to tell him that even though the deer are considered an invasive species, and that there is no real season for these critters –the possibility of hunting them was not very good because the deer are keeping to private property which doesn’t allow hunting. Another question that was asked of the officer was the potential for cross breeding, the officer did state that this was not possible.
I had no real reason to doubt my brother and sister-in-law about the deer, but I guess that it’s just one of those things you don’t think about until you have a chance to see it with your own eyes. This past Sunday I was at my brother’s home for a visit. I was standing in the yard having a cigarette when I spotted the deer myself running through a wooded section along highway 8. Immediately, we grabbed the camera and jumped in the truck to try and get a picture.
We caught up with the deer but they remained too deep into the tree line to get a good picture. We followed them for well over a kilometer but still the deer wouldn’t stop running so we could get a picture of them. In all, this time, there were 3 does –one of which was pure white, another that was a silvery blonde colour, and the third one was a brown-red with white spots.
For my brother, this was his third opportunity to see Fallow deer so close to his home; and in each instance they were never the same ones. So now you have to ask yourself several questions:
How many of these critters are actually at large?
What will the MNR do to eradicate these animals that they admittedly considered as invasive?
Was the officer correct when he claimed that Fallow and Whitetails are not able to cross breed.
And lastly, will the population of these animals ever get to the point of a bounty hunt or even an actual hunting season in itself?
Any comments?
The only problem is that they are small compared to white tails.
