[Brenda]

While this video is wrong on so many levels, I can't help but have that "Awww" response. Also, with the season approaching I thought that it would be a good time to start this thread because, while I don't hunt, I am the "camp cook." It's not that I'm squeamish--I've aged hundreds of dead deer and helped field dress many, but I can't kill them myself. Anti-hunters, feel free to comment. Recipes are also available.

http://video.yahoo.com:80/video/play?vid=67160&fr=yvmtf

[Matt]

aged? Field dress? huh?

[cbobcat49]

Are we to assume that these deer are these people's pets or are they wild and have gotten used to humans? It seems like they're pets. If so, that video isn't any different than filling up my dog bowl and then watch him walk up and start eating.

If we're going to start a hunting/anti-hunting thread... I don't have any problem with hunting or hunters. They do help control the population. Better to be shot than roadkill or starvation.

I could never bring myself to kill another mammal though. It's just not in me.


Chris

[Brenda]

aged? Field dress? huh?

When I was a seasonal with the DEC (in wildlife) I worked at a cooperative hunting area which also operated as a deer check station during gun season. Hunters could bring their deer there to be aged and weighed. I had to be recertified to age deer every year, using the wear and replacement method (lower teeth). I also had to travel around to area deer processors throughout the season to collect data on the deer they had in their walk-in coolers.

Field dressing involves preparing the deer to be taken to the processor, unless you cut up your own deer, which we don't. It's a messy, unpleasant task, but I've helped my husband on numerous occasions.

I really didn't think that there would be many people here who would disagree that populations need to be controlled. However, living in the heart of wine country, I do struggle with the number of nuisance permits that are issued to protect the vineyards.

As far as the video goes, I have a huge problem with people keeping wild animals as pets or doing anything to reduce their natural fear of humans. Feeding deer encourages them to gather in larger numbers than they normally would, thus increasing the potential for the spread of disease. (I'll talk more about Chronic Wasting Disease later.) While it might be cute to have a deer eat from your hand, or at your table, the next person that deer trustingly approaches may be carrying a gun.

[Brenda]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7191.html

Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a rare, fatal, neurological disease found in cervids, members of the deer family. It is a transmissible disease that slowly attacks the brain of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to progressively become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and invariably results in the death of the infected animal. It has been known to occur in wild elk and deer populations in parts of some western states for decades. The disease has also been confirmed in captive deer and elk herds in several western states and Canadian Provinces. Its discovery in wild deer in south-central Wisconsin in 2002 has generated unprecedented attention from wildlife managers, hunters, and others interested in deer. CWD poses a significant threat to the deer and elk of North America and, if unchecked, could dramatically alter the future management of wild deer and elk.

CWD is one of a group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) that include scrapie in sheep and goats, transmissible mink encephalopathy of ranched mink, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as "mad cow disease", in cattle. TSE's are thought to be caused by abnormal, proteinaceous, infectious particles called prions (pree-ons). CWD occurs naturally only in mule deer, white-tailed deer and Rocky Mountain Elk and very likely other subspecies of elk. The mode of transmission of CWD has not yet been fully identified and research is ongoing to explore possibilities of transmission of CWD to other species. However, evidence has shown that the disease can pass from cervid to cervid by direct contact through saliva, urine, and feces, and by indirect contact through environmental contamination with infective substances. There is no known treatment for CWD and it is always fatal. Currently there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk for humans or domestic animals.

The state Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Agriculture and Markets (DAM), and Health (DOH), together with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) are cooperating to develop a comprehensive statewide response to the threat of CWD. Together we are actively participating with other agencies and organizations in nationwide efforts to learn more about this disease and to prevent its spread. New York has a vigilant wildlife disease monitoring program in place, comprised of three main components. The first is a regulatory component designed to reduce the risk of bringing the disease into NY from other parts of the country and minimizing its spread if it is brought here. The second part is an ongoing field surveillance program to ensure the early detection of CWD and the third part is an agency response plan in the event that CWD is found. Through these active surveillance programs the cooperating state agencies first detected and verified positive cases of CWD in two captive deer herds in March 2005. A response plan was then initiated to remove future threats for these captive herds and implement a sampling strategy to determine if CWD had spread into wild New York deer herds.

[cbobcat49]

> While it might be cute to have a deer eat from your hand, or at your table, the
> next person that deer trustingly approaches may be carrying a gun.

I agree completely. Driving along the roads of Allegany S.P. you can see whole families of raccoons along the side of the road waiting for handouts... because they're used to it. This then increases danger to the animals themselves (potential roadkill) and to humans (car damage and maybe rabies from bites).

They have a lot of trouble with this in the national parks out west. When we were in Yosemite we heard about a mule deer running over and seriously injuring a young boy... because the animal was conditioned to humans. We also saw a video of a grizzly bear ripping off the door to a car like its claws were a can opener. That was pretty impressive.

Chris

[backpacker]

I've watched this doe raise her fawns all summer I finely got a good picture of them tonight,




Here are the two fawns




I also have another doe that has one fawn most of the time the five are togather but not today

[Brenda]

Awww, so pretty. I had a fawn out by the gazebo last week, but the dogs spotted it through the window and scared it off before I could grab the camera.

[backpacker]

For Release: IMMEDIATE Contact: Maureen Wren
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 (518) 402-8000

DEC CONFIRMS FIRST CASE OF DEER DISEASE IN NEW YORK
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is Detected in Deer Samples From Albany
County

Recent tests for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in several
Albany County deer have come back positive, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. This is
the first confirmed detection of EHD in New York State. EHD does not
present a threat to human health.

“DEC’s wildlife managers have been monitoring EHD as it has
worked its way north through neighboring states,” DEC Commissioner
Pete Grannis said. “While other states’ experiences indicate that it
is not anticipated to have a long-term effect on the health of our deer
herd, we will continue to monitor the spread of this disease and its
potential impact.”

EHD is predominantly a disease affecting deer and is transmitted by
certain types of biting flies called midges. It mainly affects deer in
late summer and fall, but the flies die and the disease subsides when
frosts and colder temperatures occur. EHD is common in many southeastern
states and has been reported throughout the mid-Atlantic this summer. In
states where the disease has been detected, it has not had a significant
negative impact on long-term health of the deer herd, and infecting
instead only localized pockets of animals within a geographic area.

The remains of more than twenty deer were found in the greater
Voorheesville area of Albany County in recent days. Several deer
carcasses were delivered to DEC’s Wildlife Pathology Laboratory in
Delmar, Albany County, to undergo a necropsy and microscopic examination
to determine possible cause of death. In addition to EHD, deer were
sampled for Chronic Wasting Disease, rabies, poisoning, and other
potential mortality causes. Samples were sent to the National Veterinary
Services Laboratory and the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study
laboratory. Those tests confirmed the presence of EHD in the deer
tissue.

There are several symptoms of EHD, all of which are not
necessarily present in an infected deer. They include: swollen head,
neck, tongue or eyelids; erosion of the dental pad or ulcers on the
tongue; hemorrhaging of the heart, lungs, rumen and intestines; peeling
of hooves; and high fever, leading infected deer to sometimes be found
near water sources. For more information about EHD, go to
http://www.uga.edu/scwds/index.htm .

DEC continues to request the assistance of hunters and other outdoor
enthusiasts in providing information to the Department about any sick,
dying or dead animals encountered in the field. Sick or dead deer should
be promptly reported to the nearest regional DEC office or to
1-800-TIPP-DEC.

Hunters are reminded that they should always take simple
precautions to protect themselves from exposure to disease. Hunters that
harvest a deer that is found to be diseased may be issued a replacement
tag by DEC. To minimize the risk of transmission of any infectious
diseases when handling or processing deer, the following precautions are
recommended:

- Do not handle or eat any deer that appear sick, act strangely,
or are found dead and contact DEC immediately.
- Wear rubber gloves when field dressing game.
- Wash instruments and any parts of the body exposed to animal
tissues, blood, urine, etc. thoroughly with soap and water.
- Have your game processed promptly.
- Request that animals are processed individually, without mixing
or coming into contact with meat from other animals.
- Consumption of organ meat (including brain, spinal cord, and
other nervous tissue, spleen, pancreas, eyes, tonsils and lymph nodes)
may pose a greater risk of infection with a number of diseases. Hunters
should have deer boned out and have as much fat, connective tissue and
lymph nodes removed as possible.
- In general, people should not consume an animal known or
suspected to be ill.

[Brenda]

There was a time when I was more comfortable eating venison than beef from a grocery store. This makes me glad that we've agreed to share the costs of raising several beef cattle with a friend this winter.

[champy1013]

deer is by far more healthy for you than any beef. Our huge livestock herds are just as succecptible to disease - the only reason they don't get sick is because they pump them full of medicine - which will eventually have a terrible impact when superbugs manage to overcome that.

Besides - disease in deer is the nature's way of attempting to thin out an already too-large herd since we've wiped out their natural predators.

[Brenda]

You're absolutely right. It just seems that each year there's one more deer disease to "worry" about. When I was working in the field, everyone was getting rabies shots and watching for deer ticks. Then came Chronic Wasting Disease. Now this...It certainly isn't going to prevent my husband from hunting though. As far as antibiotics go, at least when you raise your own beef you can control what goes into them.

[Brenda]

I thought that it would be a good idea to merge "all things deer" to this thread, given that there are a number of things that we all, not just hunters, should keep our eyes open for as deer activity increases over this next month. Archery season opened here last Saturday, but as yet I've not heard of any "monster bucks" being taken. I'm sure that the warm weather has had something to do with that.

[Matt]

From The Maryland Gazette:

"It was a big catch for Chad Campbell of Washington and Bo Warren of Virginia, even though the fish weren't biting. The bored fishermen were a mile and a half (2.4 km) offshore when they went to investigate what they thought was a seal.

"The catching was slow and they looked back to check their lines. They saw what appeared to be a seal with its snout out of the water, but they didn't think any seals were around their fishing grounds and they kept watching.

"Soon they realized it was a deer trying desperately to keep afloat--and obviously losing the battle. Fearing the whitetail would get snagged in their lines they cranked in their rigs. Then the deer headed straight for the boat possibly thinking it was a spit of land.

"But as it got closer and saw the two fishermen aboard, it had second thoughts. With its nose barely out of the water, it appeared to have been swimming all night, said Campbell. 'Since the fish weren't biting, we thought we'd give it a hand. Bo grew up around cows, was really handy with a bow line and lasooed the deer on the first attempt.'

"They got it close, Bo grabbed the neck, Chad got a good hold on a flank and 'we barreled over backwards to the deck -- and before we knew it, Bo was on top of the buck in velvet and had him hog tied like a calf.'

"Chad, said they feared the deer was going to 'kick the hell out of us in a 22-foot center console boat,' but they were lucky, it was too exhausted to resist, 'We hit the gas and ran him to the closest beach, Kent Point, where I beached the boat and we carefully unloaded our catch on the sand. We untied him and jumped back.

"'Too weak to stand, he just sat there quivering. We picked him up again and put his feet underneath him, but he still couldn't walk or stand. We left him sitting there looking at us. Before we left, I looked him in the eye and said 'See you on opening day; payback time.'

"'We don't know whether he made it or not, but we do know his chances were vastly improved for survival than when we first saw him.'"

[Brenda]

Thank goodness they spotted him. I hate to think of an animal suffering. How terrified it must have been.