Mule deer have enough trouble getting through winter while coping with the cold and wet—so why people add on the extra burdens of disease and food they can’t digest is baffling to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists.
Come on, people. Stop feeding the mule deer, those constant moochers in our backyards. In fact, do just the opposite: shout at them, throw rags at them, squirt them with the garden hose, do everything (legally) possible to convince them that living in town is not good for their health.
If the deer in town don’t get hit by a semi going down the main drag, they can bunch up and spread Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease—and that disease is really a killer. Kincaid Smeltzer, whom I frequently bump into at Bi Mart, went hiking with some of his pals recently in the Alder Springs Trail country, finding dead mule deer on and near the trail. Judging by the smell, he knew there were also more dead ones nearby.
Smeltzer said, “They were found all along the trail from the start to end. Some deer seemed more recent dead than others with only a couple with signs of predation, or what I could see.
“The ones that had not been eaten yet were curled up. As a result of seeing all these dead deer, I wanted to see if I could find out what happened.”
During a phone call to the Bend ODFW office, reporting Smelzer’s discovery, both Corey Heath and Randy Lewis sighed. Lewis said, “Yeah, those are probably more victims of AHD, Jim. We’ve been checking deer in the Metolius Unit and surrounding area and AHD’s hit them pretty hard.”
And then he added, “I wish there were some way we could stop those kind-hearted people from feeding deer. Not only was AHD the cause of their deaths, but when we checked the stomachs of some of the dead deer we found undigested junk food, including alfalfa, heavy grains and cracked corn. When are people going to get it? Mule deer CANNOT digest cracked corn!”
He went on to address how crowding deer, when feeding them grains and chicken food, not only kills them, but spreads AHD quicker, and keeps them in town, preventing the deer from going out to the wintering grounds where healthy food is abundant.
According to ODFW data, here’s what AHD is all about:
+ Deer infected with AHD can have symptoms that include foaming or drooling at the mouth, rapid or open-mouth breathing, diarrhea (possibly bloody), weakness, ulcers and mouth and throat abscesses.
+ During an outbreak in Oregon in 2002, deer of all ages and sex classes died. Between May and August 2002 biologists estimate more than 400 deer died from the virus in the Crooked River Ranch area of Central Oregon and near Sisters. Researchers are still trying to determine how many deer were exposed to AHD but survived.
+ AHD can be passed among deer through contact with bodily fluids, and possibly through airborne routes. The time between exposure and signs of illness or death is roughly one week. Deer populations in higher-density areas (such as those in town) could be at a higher risk, since their proximity makes it easier to transmit. It’s for that reason that ODFW encourages you to refrain from giving feed or water to deer.
To cut down on the incidence of the disease, officials advise monitoring, proper carcass disposal and avoiding moving infected live deer. There is, at present, no cure.
So far, humans don’t appear to get sick from AHD. Still, if you live or hunt in an area known to contain infected deer, wear rubber gloves if you’re handling carcasses. ODFW doesn’t know of any risk of eating meat from a deer infected with AHD, but recommend thoroughly cooking meat from animals harvested in an infected area.
So there you have it. AHD is nothing to fool around with, and who knows how many dead deer Kincaid Smelzer and his pals didn’t see on their hike through the Alder Springs mule deer wintering area.
What I’d like to see: the Oregon Legislature getting busy passing a law making it illegal for anyone to feed mule deer and elk. If the ancient game harvest law is still on the books, it’s already illegal for anyone to kill a game animal going to or from water. Why not include feeding deer junk food as well?
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 7, 2017.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
So how about telling people what they CAN feed deer that is healthy for the critters? People love feeding animals, it makes them feel good, they want to help the poor, starving wildlife. What can we feed wild deer that actually helps them instead of harming them…there must be something?
Is Cracked Corn the same as Corn Tortilla Chips ? What about Screening Pellets from a Feed Store ? Are these save for the Deer ? I do leave a bowl of water available for my neighborhood deer but will now remove it for the reason given in this article.
um, too many variables to be drawing conclusions. with the number of deer i see in tn, ga, and al, farmers would welcome a disease. the deer seem to love gmo corn and soy beans.
@La Pine Mike, you’re missing the point entirely. Feeding deer aggregates them in areas. When they’re clustered like that, they’re more likely to transmit diseases such as AHD to each other. Another clear point Jim makes is that our food, our domestic pet’s food, or any other sort of sweet feed just isn’t good for them. There is nothing humans make that deer should be eating.
@dwpbike, the east coast deer (i.e. white-tailed deer) to which you refer are indeed more populous on that side of the country. The deer in Central Oregon (i.e. mule deer) don’t have that luxury. Your response is cavalier to the point of ignorance about issues related to deer in Central Oregon.
Agree with Hinza and Friends. Mule deer have declined over 60 percent in their range in 20 years. More deer are killed by vehicles and poachers than by hunters, predators or disease. Feeding aggregates them and that alters their movements in winter range, increases disease transmittance and makes them vulnerable to collisions or entanglement in fences by altering movements as they move between feeding stations. There is no GOOD food to feed them. Bitter brush is their main winter food. So if you want deer in your yard, protect their natural forage.
I would favor city and county ordinances to ban feeding deer and elk, with a substantial fine.
This is all environmental people talking it does not hurt deer and elk feeding then corn from the fields or apples from the trees and food from the feed stores it actually helps them put on fat to survive the winter months. Salt blocks help them just like they do cows. People food I wouldn’t recommend but anyone who believes feeding them kills them is an environmentalists trying to make people feel bad about feeding them. Maybe the ones who says it’s bad should go live out in the wild with them and see if they survive