Mule deer with ear tags

[hunted]

So i took a picture of a mule deer with one steel tag in his left ear and a yellow numbered tag in his right ear? Why would the gov be tagging mule deer? Seem odd to me. I can see tagging elk when they relocate them but do they relocate mule deer?

[Donkey Oatey]

Originally Posted by hunted

So i took a picture of a mule deer with one steel tag in his left ear and a yellow numbered tag in his right ear? Why would the gov be tagging mule deer? Seem odd to me. I can see tagging elk when they relocate them but do they relocate mule deer?

Where did you see it? Mule deer can be kept under a game farm permit. Could be an escape. If you can get the tag number call it in to F&W or Agriculture to report it. If it was one that was relocated F&W will know by the tag number. If it is a game farm escape Agriculture will be able to tell from which farm with the tag number.

[dale7637]

Originally Posted by Donkey Oatey

Where did you see it? Mule deer can be kept under a game farm permit. Could be an escape. If you can get the tag number call it in to F&W or Agriculture to report it. If it was one that was relocated F&W will know by the tag number. If it is a game farm escape Agriculture will be able to tell from which farm with the tag number.

Bit off side here...

What's the point of farm raised mule deer? Is the market meat or antlers?

[C Taylor]

I seem to recall reading something in a gamewarden mag a year or two ago about a farmer being chArged for catching tagging and painting mule deer by valleyview I think. Maybe this is one of the victims

[Donkey Oatey]

Originally Posted by dale7637

Bit off side here...

What's the point of farm raised mule deer? Is the market meat or antlers?

The only real market for farm raised deer are for the hunt farms in Saskatchewan or down to the States.

[hunted]

Originally Posted by C Taylor

I seem to recall reading something in a gamewarden mag a year or two ago about a farmer being chArged for catching tagging and painting mule deer by valleyview I think. Maybe this is one of the victims

Couldn't get much further from valleyview. I am going to check with f&w for sure. I can see the tag number as plain as day.

[H380]

What was the number on the tag and where was the sighting ? I know a lady that was doing studies on a large privately owned ranch .. Some of "her " deer have traveled a long ways ..

[wildcat111]

seen a deer by airdrie a couple years back with a tag in its ear, farmer out there told me thats were they release injured deer, after there all fixed up, i think it must of been a tag that the rehab center put on it.

[hunted]

F@w said he is very sure this was a farmed deer that had escaped. My question is when did they start farming mule deer? I have heard of white-tails before but never mule deer.

Originally Posted by hunted

F@w said he is very sure this was a farmed deer that had escaped. My question is when did they start farming mule deer? I have heard of white-tails before but never mule deer.

Lots of them around...has been for years. Ya, the metal tag sounds like it is agriculture for sure.

[IR_mike]

Originally Posted by hunted

F@w said he is very sure this was a farmed deer that had escaped. My question is when did they start farming mule deer? I have heard of white-tails before but never mule deer.

Im sure hopeing your F and W freind is out "hunting" now because of disease transmission concerns from farmed deer.

[hunted]

Originally Posted by IR_mike

Im sure hopeing your F and W freind is out "hunting" now because of disease transmission concerns from farmed deer.

He seemed very interested and wanted me to come in right away so I did. Seemed to be really concerned. Said he would let me know what he finds out.

[crawfy]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Lots of them around...has been for years. Ya, the metal tag sounds like it is agriculture for sure.

Yes I have seen them in the Lethbridge area, was told that the University/Collage had done some tagging programs.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Lots of them around...has been for years. Ya, the metal tag sounds like it is agriculture for sure.

The metal tag immediately makes me concerned that this Mule Deer is not wildlife but another example of escaped 'Diversified Livestock'.

I believe that AB provincial protocal requires that soft plastic tags be used for ungulates and bears marked under provincial wildlife research permits.

[Scales]

If they are escaped "diversified livestock" can you shoot them on site like a wild boar?

I know Alberta has farmed mule deer for years, and have read that Saskatchewan has high fenced opportunities for mule deer and buy trophies from Alberta ranches, but I have never come across any website or advertising for high fence mule deer hunting in Saskatchewan.

[ganderblaster]

Originally Posted by C Taylor

I seem to recall reading something in a gamewarden mag a year or two ago about a farmer being chArged for catching tagging and painting mule deer by valleyview I think. Maybe this is one of the victims

That was my buddy Leo naughty naughty

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by Scales

I know Alberta has farmed mule deer for years, and have read that Saskatchewan has high fenced opportunities for mule deer and buy trophies from Alberta ranches, but I have never come across any website or advertising for high fence mule deer hunting in Saskatchewan.

http://www.saskwhitetailhunt.com/other_hunts.html

http://www.outdoorsman.com/outfitter..._Wildlife_Co_/

http://www.ihuntcanada.com/gameranch.htm

http://www.gssafaris.com/destination...lk-hunting.php

[moosefever]

Here is a website with info on it, it is the Alberta Whitetail and Mule Deer Foundation formed in 1997.

http://albertadeer.com/

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Scales

If they are escaped "diversified livestock" can you shoot them on site like a wild boar?


I know Alberta has farmed mule deer for years, and have read that Saskatchewan has high fenced opportunities for mule deer and buy trophies from Alberta ranches, but I have never come across any website or advertising for high fence mule deer hunting in Saskatchewan.

No. Diversified Livestock is treated similar to other large livestock. A person cannot shoot Farmer's cow just because she left the pasture. There has to be another valid reason for shooting someone's "property".


Man that felt dirty to describe deer as property.

[Donkey Oatey]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

No. Diversified Livestock is treated similar to other large livestock. A person cannot shoot Farmer's cow just because she left the pasture. There has to be another valid reason for shooting someone's "property".


Man that felt dirty to describe deer as property.

That made me chuckle.

Again if its a farmed deer F&W will have to call Agriculture to find out who the owner is.

[hunted]

Well I hadn't heard anything from F&W so I emailed them today to see if they had found anything out. Was told it was a sask deer that was originally tagged in 2008. It was recaught in 2010 and tested for CWD. That was negative so released now in 2012 the deer has travelled 130km's. Wow that is a long way!

So is this normal deer behavior? Or did the cull in Alberta just create a vacuum for sask deer to repopulate?

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by hunted

Well I hadn't heard anything from F&W so I emailed them today to see if they had found anything out. Was told it was a sask deer that was originally tagged in 2008. It was recaught in 2010 and tested for CWD. That was negative so released now in 2012 the deer has travelled 130km's. Wow that is a long way!

So is this normal deer behavior? Or did the cull in Alberta just create a vacuum for sask deer to repopulate?

It is possible.....welcome to the transborder influx of CWD

Population osmosis.....

You know the deer all have maps and a CWD deer from Saskatchewan would never cross into Alberta and vice versa...

LC

[4x4bowhunter]

A few years ago I saw 2 ear tagged cow elk in a herd of elk in zone 220 east of Innisfail. There are a few elk farms out that way. When i reported it to F&W they said i could have shot them. At the time i was cautious as there is no open season for elk in that zone, however the F&W said they do not want them breading with the wild herd.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by 4x4bowhunter

A few years ago I saw 2 ear tagged cow elk in a herd of elk in zone 220 east of Innisfail. There are a few elk farms out that way. When i reported it to F&W they said i could have shot them. At the time i was cautious as there is no open season for elk in that zone, however the F&W said they do not want them breading with the wild herd.

The rules changed last year when the provincial Conservative government decided to pass the Diversified Livestock ammendment act. F&W now have No say in what happens with escaped Game farm animals. It is now illegal to shoot escaped 'Diversified Livestock" without permission from Agriculture.

[IR_mike]

Originally Posted by 4x4bowhunter

A few years ago I saw 2 ear tagged cow elk in a herd of elk in zone 220 east of Innisfail. There are a few elk farms out that way. When i reported it to F&W they said i could have shot them. At the time i was cautious as there is no open season for elk in that zone, however the F&W said they do not want them breading with the wild herd.

Sort of odd advice when those elk could have been relocated wild elk from the parks or areas with a agricultural problem that made their way to wmu 220 from where they were originally released.

Im very sure the tagged elk I have seen in the Nordeggg/Blackstone areas were not escaped farm elk.

[Big Daddy Badger]

Originally Posted by C Taylor

I seem to recall reading something in a gamewarden mag a year or two ago about a farmer being chArged for catching tagging and painting mule deer by valleyview I think. Maybe this is one of the victims

Perhaps the author of this story...

[I]I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, sweet feed it on corn for a few weeks, then butcher it and eat it. Yum! Corn-fed venison. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer.

Since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not have much fear of me (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck four feet away) it should not be difficult to rope one, toss a bag over its head to calm it down, then hog-tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder and hid behind it with my rope. The cattle, having seen a roping or two before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.

After 20 minutes, my deer showed up, 3 of them. I picked a likely looking one, stepped out, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell she was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.

I took a step toward it. It took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope, and received an education. The first thing I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, it is spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that, pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range, I could fight down with some dignity. A deer? No chance.

That thing ran and bucked, it twisted and pulled. There was no controlling that deer, and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer firmly attached to a rope was not such a good idea. The only upside is that they do not have much stamina.

A brief ten minutes later it was tired, and not as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head.

At that point, I had lost my appetite for corn-fed venison. I hated the thing, and would hazard a guess that the feeling was mutual. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. But if I let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painful somewhere.

Despite the gash in my head, and several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's pell-mell flight by bracing my head against large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to suffer a slow death.

I managed to get it lined up between my truck and the feeder, a little trap I had set beforehand, like a squeeze chute. I backed it in there, and I started moving forward to get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do!

I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab hold of that rope, and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like a horse, it does not just bite and let go. A deer bites and shakes its head, like a pit bull. They bite HARD and won't let go. It hurts!

The proper reaction when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and wrenching away. My method was ineffective. It felt like that deer bit and shook me for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.

I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I learned my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up and strike at head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned long ago that when a horse strikes at you with its hooves and you can't get away, the best thing to do is make a loud noise and move aggressively towards the animal. This will cause it to back down a bit, so you can make your escape.

This was not a horse. This was a deer. Obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and turned to run.

The reason we have been taught NOT to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer are not so different from horses after all, other than being twice as strong and three times as evil. The second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

When a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately depart. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What it does instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you, while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck, and the deer went away. Now I know why people go deer hunting with a rifle and a scope. It's so they can be somewhat equal to the prey/I]

[C Taylor]

LOL by the sounds of that story the guy almost got a tag in his ear. thanks for the laugh

[KosinTrouble]

Thats a good story... Always good for a couple chuckles.

[Pudelpointer]

Originally Posted by hunted

Well I hadn't heard anything from F&W so I emailed them today to see if they had found anything out. Was told it was a sask deer that was originally tagged in 2008. It was recaught in 2010 and tested for CWD. That was negative so released now in 2012 the deer has travelled 130km's. Wow that is a long way!

So is this normal deer behavior? Or did the cull in Alberta just create a vacuum for sask deer to repopulate?

Sorry, but who told you this? Seriously, name, position, agency, phone number.

You are being lied to. There is (at least there wasn't in 2010) no test for CWD on live animals. The only way to test for CWD involves a slice of an animals brain. Only dead deer are tested for CWD.

If it is an escaped "livestock", SRD or whatever we are calling them this week needs to shoot it ASAFP.

Wow.

Originally Posted by Pudelpointer

You are being lied to. .

X2