Relocating Deer from urban areas to low deer areas.

[BJE80]

I admit this sounds crazy but it does make sense if you could figure out the logistics. Urban deer are all over the place where they are typically unhuntable or you can't ger permission to hunt them. Drive around in Milwaukee at night near parks or other wood lots and you will see what I mean. Would it be possible to trap and relocate those deer to areas of the state that need the deer? Kill two birds with one stone.

 

[wiscwhip]

Physically possible, sure. Economically feasible, not on your life. Trapping and transporting even small numbers of animals like that eat up huge amounts of expenses. Maybe you could chase them out of the urban areas into surrounding habitat if the state could use a bunch of inmates and make one huge deer drive through the urban areas under the supervision of the DNR.:rolleyes:;):D

 

[BJE80]

With the money we spend on DR. Deer and studies that tell us nothing most of us know already why not?

 

[j-bird]

Possible - yes. My concern would be if the deer would adapt quickly enough to figure out cars and people and dogs and the like are now a threat or if they would still be able to know how to survive the unsheltered winters? They restocked deer all over the country before - the issue would be the state tax payers paying for it. I doubt the federal government would help since it would be within a single state. hopefully they would tag the deer or something so they knew how many survived. I could see alot of "city" deer in the back of country boy pick-up trucks or simply froze or starved to death. Relocating them for them to simply die isn't a very smart thing to do - if they aren't going to make it just shoot them and get it over with.

Wiscwhip wants to use inmates - I say we keep the deer and shoot the inmates!!!

 

[wiscwhip]

Only after they drive the deer out of the high population areas.;)

 

[j-bird]

Well of course - if I'm going to be a bastard, might as well be a good.....bad....well, a big bastard!!!!

 

[chummer]

Why not issue special archery permits? We have a couple villages over run with deer here. All the residents complain about them but mention shooting a few and all hell breaks loose. After birth control didn't work they floated the idea of sharp shooters. That idea almost brought a riot the size of ferguson. I hope they eat every last shrub in those towns to the ground.

 

[j-bird]

Cityiots what them gone, but they don't want to hurt them. This isn't a Disney film people - it isn't always happily ever after! In my area this is why there is poor urban archery results -you can't get permission to hunt OR you got some A-hoel to deal with every time the deer runs. Gotta go get bambi from some guys back yard between the sandbox and the swing-set. Dogs going nuts, the wife is freaking out, the kids are cryig and of corse Dad is pissed, red and blues flashing inthe drive, neighbors looking out windows! Sort'a not the PR mission I would look forward to as a hunter. I avoid it altogether - as much as I would love to help it just isn't worth the headache!!!!

 

[chummer]

I have shot a few deer 100 yards behind my house. I consider these suburban deer. I have only had one run towards the houses and luckily she dropped before she hit the lawns. I always worry dragging them out someone is watching. I don't want to ruffle any neighbors feathers. Mostly because I want them to keep fattening up the deer going in my freezer. I don't know if they would care one way or another but I like keeping things on the down low.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Possible - yes. My concern would be if the deer would adapt quickly enough to figure out cars and people and dogs and the like are now a threat or if they would still be able to know how to survive the unsheltered winters? They restocked deer all over the country before - the issue would be the state tax payers paying for it. I doubt the federal government would help since it would be within a single state. hopefully they would tag the deer or something so they knew how many survived. I could see alot of "city" deer in the back of country boy pick-up trucks or simply froze or starved to death. Relocating them for them to simply die isn't a very smart thing to do - if they aren't going to make it just shoot them and get it over with.

I think they would surprise you J-bird. they adapted to the rigors of "urban" life. They are pretty tough and highly adaptable critters. I used to hunt in the 'burbs and those deer sure as hell knew the difference between predatory behavior and non-threatening human behavior. If you went sneaking into a wood lot...crouching, moving slowly, etc and you ended up getting busted...those deer blew out of there heading to another woodlot. But yet you could be up in your stand undetected and the neighbor could be out grilling on the back deck and the deer wouldn't think twice of walking into his yard to grab a bite to eat from his shrubs. Some of them might get knocked off quickly by hanging around houses, farms, cabins etc. but it wouldn't take long for them to adapt to the new conditions.

Larger numbers of deer were trapped and transported to PA from MI back in the early 1900's by train. My grandfather used to tell me stories of the train arriving here in town and the game commission personnel driving the deer from the train cars into horse drawn cattle trailers to be transported to out around the area to release sites.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

I have shot a few deer 100 yards behind my house. I consider these suburban deer. I have only had one run towards the houses and luckily she dropped before she hit the lawns. I always worry dragging them out someone is watching. I don't want to ruffle any neighbors feathers. Mostly because I want them to keep fattening up the deer going in my freezer. I don't know if they would care one way or another but I like keeping things on the down low.

I always operated the same way when i hunted the burbs. kept a very low profile whether anyone cared or not. I was always sure to be legit...but one ranting and raving liberal lunatic is all it takes to ruin your day. No need to call attention to it...because most attention garnered wouldn't be worth it.

I had a buddy that hunted behind his sister's house in the back of a subdivision. It was a 3 acre lot at the back end of a culdisac. Directly behind the property was about a 50 acre salt marsh with a tidal creek that ran through it. the marsh held a ton of deer. My buddy connected on a doe very early in the season. It was a quartering away shot. The shot looked good. the deer tore ass across his sister's back yard heading right straight for the neighbors' back yard and presumable the wooded edge to the marsh just beyond. the deer got about 5 yds into the neighbors' yard and crashed.

My buddy knew that those people were not cool with hunting...so he was pretty freaked out about how it all was going to go down. The neighbor's wife was outside screaming bloody murder as her undersized furry rat of a dog was going berserk about the dead deer laying in the yard, before my buddy even got out of his stand. He said he was going to try to get to his truck on the opposite side of the house from the crazy lady and get out of his camo before walking over to her to attempt to get permission to retrieve the deer.

she saw him walking across the lawn and started freaking out on him. He calmly approached and she told him not to step foot on their property she had called the cops and they were on the way. The cop arrived and spoke to raving and ranting lady for a few mins and then came to speak to my friend. The cop told my buddy that he should call the DEC and get an WCO to come down and help with the retrieval process. The cop told the lady that there was noting he could do because the hunter hadnt trespassed and that the DEC would be the agency to determine if the hunter was legal or not (he was). The WCO showed up about 45 mins later. The WCO reviewed the stand placement and verified that the distance from the houses was legal and that he had permission from the land owner, he also verified that my buddy had a license. He then approached the neighbor lady and now the neighbor lady's husband was home. She started screaming at the WCO as he explained that the hunter had done nothing illegal and that she should allow him to retrieve his deer from their property. The neighbors went berserk again. Finally the WCO told the neighbors that if they did not allow the hunter to recover the deer he would write them up for wanton waste (which he could, but it actually wouldn't stand up in court). Finally the neighbors agreed to let the WCO drag the deer the 5 yds over the property line so that my buddy could tag it and take it. The WCO told my buddy that although he was completely legit he would suggest not hunting the property anymore to avoid confrontations because these people were the craziest people he has ever had to deal with! My buddy had already written that place off by that point!

 

[wiscwhip]

NUTS!:eek:

 

[sandbur]

capture myopathy(death) from stress is almost 50% beyond 50 miles. I saw a post where a guy wanted to captures wolves heading south and deer going north. lol

My neighbors with cattle, capture wolves heading south and "capture myopathy" runs double the figure you quoted. Mileage runs about 300 yards or so.;)

 

[wiscwhip]

Nice sandbur, nice!:cool:

 

[chickenlittle]

Ignoring the how many deer would die from the move, you'd have to convince all the non-hunting bambi lovers that the deer are going to live happily ever after in the country.