More Deer

On Sept.2 I asked the question regarding our deer population “Why can't we start a sterilization program now to head this off at the pass?”  Since then I have learned more about deer than I ever thought I would.  According to the Mayor of Avon Lake, the State of Ohio does not permit birth control methods for deer. “Once a deer is immunized, or something is injected into a deer, they potentially can run off and be shot by a hunter and there is concern that people are going to consume that meat and be affected by whatever is in the deer. They have not allowed sterilization of this type in thirty years.”  “You are not allowed to capture deer and sterilize them, because the sterilize procedure is chemical in nature and the ODNR is concerned that if that deer was ever hunted and consumed by animals there could be contamination of meat.”  I am still looking into this information.

Additionally, I have read the cost of capturing and removing the ovaries to sterilize is expensive. Depending on the area you live in the cost can range from $500 to $3,000 per doe.