The North American Deer Summit

© By Othmar Vohringer

Over the last decade, the ones believed to be an indestructible world of whitetail deer has taken a beating. What are the reasons for the overall decline of the deer populations? Scientist from the QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) found out that the decline of the deer herds can be attributed to:

• Growing predator populations, seriously impacting fawn survival rates.
• Urban sprawl is the cause for rapid wildlife habitat loss.
• Disease, such as the quick and devastating spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and more recently the spread of the Bluetongue Virus and “Deer Warts” (Cutaneous fibromas), has taken a huge toll on the deer herds in some areas of North America.
• Government “Deer Management” should be renamed as “Political Management” or “Hunter Management”. It is my contention for years now that government wildlife services in the past have been more concerned with keeping hunter happy than with sound science based deer management/conservation programs. I am glad, that finally, scientists have come to that conclusion too.

Personally I also find that over the years all the hoopla about killing large numbers does has contributed to the decline of deer herds too. While killing does can be a good management tool to reduce deer herds quickly it also can quickly backfire. Especially then when predator populations are not kept in check or some deadly disease or harsh winter conditions adversely affects deer herds.

It is my opinion that if things don’t change quickly we will have some serious deer conservation problems in the next few years. It is a very likely scenario that we will see some drastic measures being taken to protect deer, and that might very well mean a total ban on deer hunting in some of the most adverse affected areas, or at the very least a very limited number of deer tags being made available.

It is for this reasons why concerned deer hunters have established the National Deer Alliance (NDA) last year. The aim of the NDA to be a unified voice for deer hunters and work toward science based solutions for the many challenges our North American whitetail deer populations face. Part of the NDA mission is the creation of the North American Deer Summit. This is the second Summit of this kind and is to be held on May 6 to 8, 2015, The Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky.

The first summit, held in 2014, had the goal of identifying the various challenges facing the deer populations. This years summit will establish a priority plan of what issues need to be addressed immediately and to begin developing a plan of action to be taken.

This is a very important event, involving all stakeholders in the deer hunting and deer conservation community. This is something you, me and all fellow deer hunters should make a priority to get involved with and actively participate. The summit is open to the public, meaning everybody can, and should, take part in it.

As passionate deer hunters is should be all our duty to make sure that future generations of deer hunters have the possibility to enjoy what we do today, and maybe for too long have also taken for granted.

For more information visit the link of the North American Deer Summit.

Visit the North American Deer Summit registration page.

Become a member and supporter (it’s free) of the National Deer Alliance.

Here are some articles on the subject that might interest you:

EHD and CWD: What’s the Difference?

Have We Killed Too Many Does?

10 Reasons You Don’t Want CWD in Your Woods

Bluetongue Virus Identified in New Jersey Deer

News Item provided by OutdoorHub.com

New Jersey wildlife officials confirmed that the state’s first traces of bluetongue virus have been found on two dead deer. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, the deer were discovered in Somerset and Morris County last month (September 2014) and tested positive for the disease, which is spread by bites from the midge Culicoides imicola. Experts often compare bluetongue disease to the similar epizootic hemorrhagic disease, as both share the same symptoms, affect the same species, and are not considered contagious. Bluetongue, however, has a reputation for causing affected animals to develop foot lesions. In animals like deer, elk, pronghorn, and cattle, it can be extremely painful and eventually causes death. The erratic movements caused by the foot lesions have caused bluetongue to also be known as the “dancing disease.”

“The bluetongue virus is widely distributed in the United States, but has not been previously found in deer in New Jersey,” said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Chanda. “Both diseases are spread to animals by the bite of a certain type of midge. Neither disease can be transmitted to people. While EHD is only found in deer populations, the bites of the midge can transmit bluetongue to certain types of livestock.”

Mortality is relatively low with bluetongue, although there is no effective treatment for affected wildlife. The incubation period can last anywhere from a week to 20 days and symptoms can involve a high fever, swelling of the lips, and respiratory problems. Since the disease is spread by midges, experts expect that the potential for disease transmission will end when the winter frost kills the insects.

Like EHD, people cannot contract bluetongue through handling infected deer or eating venison. A midge bite will also not give people the disease. However, wildlife officials still advise against touching or eating any deer that appears to be ill.

Pre-Season Preparations: Read And Understand The Hunting Regulations

© By Othmar Vohringer

An important part of preparing for the hunting season is to read and understand the hunting regulations in the area you hunt. Yet, I am baffled each year how many hunters, even so called celebrity hunters, are caught in violation of game hunting laws. The usual excuse is; “I didn’t know.”

There is simply no excuse for not keeping up and be familiar with the laws and regulations pertaining to hunting. Wildlife conservation needs can, and often do, change from one year to the next and if you do not know and shoot the wrong deer or at the wrong time you could get in to serious and expensive trouble. Take my hunting region for example. Due to declining moose populations the Wildlife Services stipulated that the moose hunting season start in November and for two weeks only, whereas in the previous year moose season was held in late September to October. The season has not started yet and hunters already “look forward” to the September moose hunting season. If theses hunters go out and shoot a moose they are poachers and will be treated as such when caught, and quite rightly so!

It is our duty to keep abreast of changing laws and regulations and with every region making hunting regulations available on the Internet nobody has an excuse not to be informed.

The most important part of pre-season hunting preparations is to know and understand the rules and regulations, even if you hunt with an outfitter in another US State or Canadian Province. Not knowing the rules will not prevent you from getting your butt kicked, the excuse that you didn’t know or that the outfitter hasn’t told you will fall on deaf ears in the court room.

Are Trophy Records Destroying Hunting As We Know It?

© By Othmar Vohringer

For years I have been saying that the “trophy” aspect of hunting perpetrated in every magazine and hunting TV show eventually will backfire on our hunting heritage. It is my contention that if trophy record books would only give credit to the animal without the name of the hunter they would go quickly out of business. The reason hunters enter trophy’s in these books is for the sole reason to see their name in print. In magazines and hunting TV shows trophy animals are used solely for the purpose to sell products and to give “testimony” that the writer or TV show presenter is an “expert”.

Now don’t get me wrong. I like to kill a trophy animal as much as the next guy but to me it is not a contest and I certainly never would enter one in a record book. I am not a trophy hunter and I am not a meat hunter either. I am just a hunter. While I fully respect that some hunters may only hunt for a trophy animal to please their own ego or their own sense of achievement it needs to be mentioned that the trophy hype does affect new and young hunters in a very negative way. How so? I lost count of how many times I heard a young or new hunter say something like; “I will not waste a bullet on a lesser animal.” Or “I want to be a trophy hunter.” These are all people that may go many years without killing a deer waiting for that big trophy buck. They do so because they want not to be ridiculed by their peers for shooting a lesser animal.

Coyotes Kill More Deer Then Other Predators Do

© By Othmar Vohringer

A long-term study by the Carnivore Ecology Laboratory at Mississippi State University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan revealed that coyotes killed more adult and fawn whitetail deer than wolves, bears, bobcats or any other predator. The study group uses radio collars on adult and fawn whitetails to track their movements, choice of habitat and causes of mortality. The scientists also use GPS collars to track top predators, such as coyotes, wolves, bears and bobcats.

The study revealed that, for the third straight year, coyotes are responsible for the killing of more adult and fawn deer than other predators. In one study the coyotes have preyed on seven adult deer, wolves on three deer, bear and bobcats on one each. In that same timeframe coyotes also killed 22 fawns, bobcats 12, bears and wolves each killed four fawns. Researchers also observed one fawn deer being killed by a bald eagle.

The study is still ongoing, but the trend that coyotes, besides humans, play a major role in deer kills is increasing.