Canada Deer News

Better wildlife management for today and tomorrow June 6, 2023 British Columbia, East Kootenay News Online Weekly

... Why have our mule deer populations dropped so much? Why are there so few elk left in the high country? Why are there more white tail (pictured) in town than in the bush? The answers will cost money and will require a wildlife management regime that is dedicated to growing wildlife populations, not to maintaining the status quo ...


How a B.C. First Nation community is reintroducing fire to manage the land May 30, 2023 British Columbia, The Globe and Mail

... “This is a fire-driven ecosystem,” Mr. Williams said. During his lifetime, he said, he’d seen elk and deer displaced from the area by logging, agriculture and unhealthy, overgrown forests, although the animals are now making a comeback. He expects they’ll get a further boost from the prescribed burn, which covered 1,200 hectares, or 12 square kilometres...


Prevalence of deadly chronic wasting disease in some Alberta deer hits 23% May 20, 2023 Yahoo News Canada

... Surveillance results put out by the province, collected during the 2022-23 hunting seasons, found CWD in 23.4 per cent of 2,457 mule deer, 8.3 per cent of 1,556 white-tailed deer, 1.6 per cent of 320 elk and 2.9 per cent of 175 moose...


Survey results suggest Okotokians are torn on local deer May 9, 2023 Alberta  OkotoksOnline.com

...  question included in the survey regarded the "gentle stressing by canine" strategy that was presented to council in October. 54 per cent of respondents said they'd be in favour of considering the program if short-term strategies had no effect, with 46 per cent voting against it... The full report can be seen here...


Deadline for moose tag draw comes with signs that Ontario population is on the rebound May 1, 2023 Ontario, CBC.ca

... There were 2,930 moose shot by hunters in Ontario in 2022, less than half of the 7,342 reported following the hunt in 2006.  Snoek says after years in decline, the population has stabilized in the last five years, but climate change continues to pose a risk to moose in the north...


GSLR deer farm cleanup complete, says federal agency April 27, 2023 Quebec, The Review Newspaper

... Following the discovery of the disease [chronic wasting] in three animals from the domestic red deer herd at the Harpur Farm on Avoca Road in 2018, not only was the herd culled, but wild whitetail deer in a large area surrounding the farm were also culled to prevent any spread of CWD into the wild population...


Pincher Creek deer population calls for long-term approach, says wildlife expert April 26, 2023 Alberta, Yahoo News Canada

... the herd was somewhere between 30 and 40 strong in November 2018, when the town deployed a “strategic hazing program” where deer were scared off by a professional dog handler. The program lasted through the following April, temporarily scattering deer that encountered the on-leash dog and its professional handler...


Animal Alliance of Canada Opposed to Parks Canada Sidney Island Deer Eradication Plan April 21, 2023 British Columbia, YAHOO!Finance

... Fallow deer were initially introduced to Sidney Island back in 1908 for hunting purposes. With minimal predators on the Island, the population grew to approximately 3000 deer in the early 2000’s. At that time, approximately 2000 deer were killed and recent estimates by local residents suggest the population currently is around 300...


Sidney Island fallow-deer cull could lead to black-tailed deer boom April 16, 2023 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... A tour of the struggling forest understorey on Mayne Island, where fallow deer have been allowed free rein for a couple of decades, reveals fallow deer’s unselective and opportunistic diet choices. The species eats herbs, shrubs, ferns, leaves, seedlings, branch tips, and bark... Vancouver Island gardeners may find it hard to believe that our native deer are fussier and tend to damage natural landscapes less than fallow deer do...


N.B. DNR says mild winter will increase deer population April 14, 2023 New Brunswick, CTV Atlantic

... The latest provincial deer count from last summer found about 155,000 deer in New Brunswick... “In southern New Brunswick, with the milder winters, we’ve seen improved survival so deer populations have been growing steadily really over the last eight years.” ..,


Deer shot in front yard, northern hunter fined $8K April 14, 2023 Ontario, CTV News

... “Upon observing a large white-tailed deer buck bedded on someone’s front lawn, he exited his vehicle and while standing on the shoulder of the road, discharged a high-powered rifle across the residence’s driveway and killed the deer,” the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) said ...


Feeding white-tailed deer now prohibited in Quebec March 30, 2023 CTV News

... A new regulation that comes into effect Thursday in Quebec prohibits the feeding of white-tailed deer outside of hunting season, from Dec. 1 to Aug. 31, except on l'île d'Anticosti...


Chronic wasting disease found in white-tailed deer in Manitoba for 1st time March 6, 2023 CNC.ca

... For the first time in Manitoba, chronic wasting disease has been found in white-tailed deer, after recently being detected in mule deer...The first sighting of chronic wasting disease in Manitoba was in a mule deer in late 2021. Since then, there have been a total of 20 positive cases...


Mass killing of fallow deer to go ahead on Sidney Island March 4, 2023 British Columbia, Victoria Times Colonist

... property owners on the island narrowly approved it... The cull and continued management of the black-tailed deer population ­represents the majority of the overall contract, about $4.5 million ...


Wildlife service to blame after deer shot 13 times in Longueuil: rescue official March 1, 2023 Quebec, Ottawa Citizen

... Quebec non-profit group Sauvetage Animal Rescue posted a video of the killing on Facebook Tuesday, sparking outrage over the way authorities handled the situation...   "It’s deplorable that the police are forced to do the dirty work that the wildlife service would normally do ..."

      Animal Rescue outraged after Longueuil police officer shoots wounded deer more  than a dozen times March 1, 2023 Quebec, CTV News

...  the deer had two broken legs ... the officer shot it 13 times in a half hour...  It was found that the animal was still showing signs of life for some reason that remains unexplained ...


B.C. residents to vote on plan to eradicate invasive deer February 14, 2023 

British Columbia, Keremeos Review

...  the issue of what to do with the invasive fallow deer population and native black tail deer population remains the most debated element of the wider restoration project on the island ...


Ontario Park Warden Jumps Into Icy Lake to Save Stranded Deer February 11, 2023 Yahoo News Canada

...  a buck and a doe had fallen into the ice-covered lake, about 150 meters (490 feet) from the shore ... “It was very rewarding to see them reach shore after about four hours they spent in the ice,” ...


Parks Canada monitoring Banff's declining elk population February 9, 2023 Alberta, RMOutlook.com

... 139 elk in 2022. That compares to 171 in 2021, 212 in 2020, 249 in 2019 and 267 in 2018.  While carnivores such as wolves and cougars are picking off elk and others are struck and killed by trains and vehicles, an acute clostridial bacterial disease discovered in some of Banff’s elk about three years ago continues to kill more individuals...


Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years February 8, 2023 Science Daily

... Female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, leaving behind a record of their annual travels across Alaska and Canada's Yukon that persists on the cold tundra for hundreds or even thousands of years. Researchers recovered antlers that have sat undisturbed on the arctic tundra since the Bronze Age...


Human impact on deer use is greater than predators and competitors in a multiuse recreation area - Animal Behaviour, 2023

...We found that the mere presence of humans was the most important determinant of deer return times in spring and autumn, whereas in summer, competitor (i.e. moose and elk) presence was most important. In winter, a combination of human presence and the number of predators (i.e. canids) was the strongest determinant of deer return times...


Population Explosion of Canadian “Super Pigs” Could Spread Into the Northern U.S. January 18, 2023 Field & Stream

... Wild boars were brought in from Europe to be raised on farms across Canada... early 1980s ...farmers and ranchers soon crossbred the wild boars with domestic pigs... the hybridization resulted in bigger “super pigs” ... They can take down a whitetail deer ...


‘Death by a thousand clearcuts’: Canada’s deep-snow caribou are vanishing January 14, 2023 thenarwhal

... The B.C. government spends millions on extreme measures — like wolf culls and maternity pens — to support these mountain-loving herds found nowhere else in the world. Yet such efforts fail to offset the habitat destruction at the root of their disappearance ...


Urban deer make for interesting neighbours in northwestern Ontario cities and towns January 12, 2023 Ontario, CBC.ca

..due to a series of bad winters and habitat change, wild deer numbers are way down as compared to the peak population of the late 90s and early 2000s.  'Having urban deer is like having a source spot population where they can start to fill in once conditions get better," Ranta said. "So that's a net positive."...


Point Pelee National Park temporary closes for deer cull January 11, 2023 Ontario, Cottage Life

... To reduce the deer population, Parks Canada has partnered with Caldwell First Nation, whose traditional territory encompasses Point Pelee, to hunt the deer. “The population of White-tailed deer is reduced by means of an organized annual cull,” ...


Deer in B.C.'s Interior still getting tangled up near residential areas  January 10, 2023 British Columbia, The Weather Network

... A stag with garden netting draping from his antlers was spotted last Friday in the Lower Sahali neighbourhood of Kamloops ... "When he [Kamloops deer] tried to walk, he would step on it and stop — it was just the saddest thing to see." ...


Unstable funding threatens ‘zombie deer’ research in the Prairies January 9, 2022 Alberta, Toronto Star

... an important juncture in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research... for years, the prion centre received annually to the tune of about $500,000. That all but dried up in the summer of 2022... no longer going to be granted to them because the original intention was to study Mad Cow...


The problem with Thunder Bay's deer-feeding ritual January 7, 2023 Ontario, The Narwhal

... on tiny Mission Island ...  The animals know a human hand with a food offering will emerge from every lowered window. Feeding the deer is a longstanding ritual on the woodland-laden landmass, with little indication that a municipal bylaw prohibiting the act has existed for almost 11 years...


New mule deer season announced December 25, 2022 Canada, Winnipeg Free Press

... First detected in 2021 in Western Manitoba, the province had previously introduced more regulations for testing members of the deer family harvested by hunters. This year, seven cases of CWD have been confirmed near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border. All have occurred in mule deer...


Majority vote by strata owners enough for Sidney Island deer cull, tribunal rules December 17, 2022 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... A mass killing of the deer is a touchy subject with strata owners, who have been split between those who favour the cull to get rid of the deer and others who want to continue reducing the animals’ numbers through seasonal hunting...


Black-tailed deer resource selection reveals some mechanisms behind the 'luxury effect'in urban wildlife 2022  Authorea Preprints

... Urban black-tailed deer occupied very small home ranges. Mean core home range size (50% isopleth) for the 20 collared does was 0.14 km (14 ha) (SD=0.07), and the mean outer home range size (95% isopleth)

was 0.64 km2 (64 ha) (SD=0.31). Female deer displayed high site fidelity over the two-year period, staying centralized during that time ... Deer resource selection analysis

Urban deer strongly selected large residential lots and areas of high vegetation productivity ...


Water rescue team helps deer that fell through ice on Ottawa River December 17, 2022 CTV News

... The Ottawa Fire Services water rescue team helped a deer get back to solid ground after it fell through the ice and into the Ottawa River ...


Province Advises Of Additional Actions to Help Prevent Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease December 15, Province of Manitoba News Releases

... First detected in November 2021, the Manitoba government has implemented significant new measures and resources to assess the disease’s prevalence in the province and contain its spread. Because of these activities, seven cases of CWD have been confirmed near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border over the last year. All confirmed cases occurred in mule deer..,


Longueuil, Appeals court stops Longueuil deer cull December 14, 2022 Quebec, Montreal Gazette

... The decision does not address the merits of the case — just the refusal of the lower court to issue the injunction as it considers the matter. So it is a temporary victory for the SPCA and Sauvetage Animal Rescue ...


A Coyote Unexpectedly Attacked a Human in 2009. Scientists Now Know Why December 14, 2022 Canada, CNET

...  Taylor Mitchell was attacked by a pack of coyotes while hiking at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Canada [2009] ...  died from her injuries ... According to a paper ...  they seem to be hunting moose for their meals ...  these coyotes learned to attack larger mammals, like humans ...


Shifts in diel activity of Rocky Mountain mammal communities in response to anthropogenic disturbance and sympatric invasive white-tailed deer 2022 Global Ecology and Conservation, 2022

...  We found that contrary to our hypotheses, sympatric ungulate species maintained activity and temporal overlap with white-tailed deer in both landscapes. Predators did not match the temporal activity of white-tailed deer in the high-disturbance landscape as closely as in the low-disturbance landscape...


Penticton firefighters make frigid rescue December 8, 2022 British Columbia Mission City Record

... Three firefighters rescued a deer stuck in the ice on Okanagan Lake ... One rescuer made contact with the deer, covering its head with a blanket to keep it calm ...


Actor and activist Brigitte Bardot urges Longueuil mayor to stop deer cull November 17, 2022 Quebec, Global News on MSN.com

... In an open letter addressed to Longueuil's mayor on her foundation's web page, Bardot is urging the city to reconsider the "cruel" crossbow hunt...


The Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control will host a free webinar on November 17, 2022, at 2:00pm (EST) titled "Black-tailed deer in the city: A scientific approach to population control using immunocontraception."


Longueuil deer saga takes another turn as case goes back to court, again  October 26, 2022 Quebec, CBC.ca

...  plans to cull the deer were met with widespread protests. Over the summer, an online petition calling for the deer to be sterilized, treated and relocated garnered more than 2,700 signatures...


Okotoks' urban deer are living on citizens' dime: expert October 18, 2022 Alberta, OkotoksToday

... Aversion conditioning was one of the mid to long-term strategies identified in the 2022-25 Urban Deer Management Strategy and Action Plan which came out of the work completed during the Urban Deer Task Force's 18-month term... In this approach, a dog and handler would come upon a browsing deer and move close enough to get its attention. As the deer stutters or moves away, the person and dog would follow...


Longueuil to proceed with reduction of deer herd October 5, 2022 Quebec, Montreal Gazette

... The decision comes on the heels of a Superior Court decision Tuesday rejecting a call to stop Longueuil from culling the deer herd. Last week the animal rights organization Sauvetage Animal Rescue had gone to Superior Court ...


There is still time to reconcile forest management with climate-driven declines in habitat suitability for boreal caribou. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2022

... Many boreal populations of woodland caribou in Canada are declining, mainly due to the prevalence of anthropogenic disturbances which alter predator-prey dynamics. Climate change is expected to exert an additional negative influence on caribou populations in coming decades ... We show that reducing harvest activities in areas where habitat suitability is currently high could help maintain high-quality caribou habitat even under the most intense climate change scenario...


Animal rights activists challenge the Longueuil deer cull in court September 29, 2022 Quebec, CTV News

... "The argument I’m bringing before the judge today is that there's no need and no urgency to kill the herd of deer [...] when we have so many other plans to propose to save these beautiful animals," ... the Civil Code of Quebec considers animals to be sentient beings ...


Majestic moose; more reclusive than their deer friends September 18, 2022 British Columbia, Columbia Valley Pioneer

... for reasons unknown, over the last decade there has been a significant decline in their population in the central interior region of British Columbia. Studies show that the population of moose in this region have declined by approximately 27,500 since 2011...


Conservation officers watch out for deer with crossbow bolt in its neck August 26, 2022 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... The deer was spotted by a William Head Road resident who posted photos on a local community page, but removed them after getting what he called harassing comments from hunters ...The young buck is a regular early-evening visitor to the home ...


Canadians Study Brain Worms in Deer in Bid to Save Moose Populations August 25, 2022,Field & Stream

... Brain worm infections in whitetail deer, while common, are typically benign. But for moose, who are infected indirectly by the deer, they are devastating. The worms burrow into a moose’s brain ... Once numbering in the thousands in Nova Scotia, the province’s mainland moose population has fallen precipitously over the past century, barely cracking into the hundreds in recent years ...


Fawns on lawns: Oak Bay still seeks long-term deer management plan August 22, 2022 British Columbia, Victoria News

... Oak Bay’s immunocontraception program has cut deer numbers in and around the municipality by 40 per cent since it began in 2019... In terms of other options, culls prove largely ineffective and translocation merely moves the problem from one community to another ...

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Controlled deer hunt will go ahead at Michel-Chartrand Park in Longueuil July 20, 2022 Montreal, CTV News

... The suggestion of capturing and moving the deer, as proposed by animal advocates, was turned down by an ethics committee from the Université de Montréal's veterinary school, saying there is a higher risk of death than rescue...


P.C. council looking at next steps for deer management June 28, 2022 Alberta, The Canadian Press 

...Okotoks ended up implementing a robust education program for residents and visitors, such as what behaviour inappropriately habituates wildlife (petting, feeding), what deterences can protect property (predator urine, water sprayers, plants to cultivate that deer won’t eat) and publishing information on deer behaviour (rutting season, information on fawns, how to tell when a deer feels threatened)...


Video below about Fluffy the deer in British Columbia - June 22, 2023

Longueuil suspends deer cull as legal challenge proceeds in court June 15, 2022 Quebec, CTV News

... The city had wanted to euthanize some 70 deer this fall, but an animal rights organization called Sauvetage Animal Rescue filed a lawsuit to put a stop to it, calling the city's plans "unnecessary and cruel slaughter" ...


Alberta deer populations could drop due to Chronic Wasting Disease June 11, 2022 Calgary Sun

... slowly, over time, affected deer populations do decline and particularly it changes in terms of fewer adults and older bucks and does,” said Pybus. “Eventually you get a declining local population.” ...


Citizen scientists sought for B.C. wildlife study June 7, 2022 The Boundary Sentinel

... The B.C. Wildlife Federation is looking for a few dozen more people who are willing to spend one day a year in the backcountry, locating and servicing the cameras, changing out batteries and collecting SIM cards full of images.  ...


Oak Bay's deer management research on international stage June 6, 2022 British Columbia, Oak Bay News

...Wildlife veterinarian Dr. Adam Hering presented Dr. Jason Fisher’s work, highlighting data around habitat use and the fawning rate reduction...  the immunocontraception application was showing a reduction in fawning rates by about 60 per cent after the first year...


Caribou threatened: the forestry industry proposes to bet on hunting predators June 3, 2022 Quebec, The Bobr Times

... The caribou are in decline in Quebec... “The CIFQ recommends prioritizing predator management measures to reduce early caribou mortality, before considering costly and highly disadvantageous road dismantling measures.” ...


B.C. conservation officer saves baby deer with emergency C-section June 2, 2022 British Columbia,

CTV News

... The adult doe had to be put down due to her injuries ... he knew that her heart would keep beating for a short period after... "... so I had a knife and just very quickly did a C-section and was able to find a fawn and pull it out," ...


Efficacy and ethics of intensive predator management to save endangered caribou - Conservation Science and Practice, 2022

... in Canada. Across multiple jurisdictions, large numbers of wolves (Canis lupus), and to a lesser extent bears (Ursus americanus) and coyotes (C. latrans), are killed through trapping, poisoning or aerial shooting to halt or reverse continued declines of woodland caribou ...


Animal welfare advocates ask court to stop cull of white-tailed deer living in forest south of Montreal May 18, 2022 Quebec, The Globe and Mail

... Lawyer Anne-France Goldwater, who has previously voiced her opposition to the plan, has filed a court petition on behalf of herself, a wildlife rescue organization called Sauvetage Animal Rescue ...


Rare white deer native to Europe pops up in rural south Ottawa May 17, 2022 The Weather Network

... A white fallow deer has moved into a field near the south Ottawa suburb of Manotick, to the delight of people living nearby...


Plan for fallow deer cull on Sidney Island in limbo after vote fails to meet threshold May 12, 2022 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... The vote threshold to proceed with the mass kill was set at 75% by the Sallas Forest Strata Corp., but the resolution only received 55% of the vote on May 4... The fallow deer were introduced on neighbouring James Island in 1902 by the owner at the time as prey for hunting parties...


Tame deer becomes celebrity in tiny BC town May 11, 2022 British Columbia, Alaska Highway News

... Fluffy ... was bottle raised after being left by her mother. There are no wildlife centres around that are allowed to take fawns and the conservation officers do kill them...


Parks Canada warns elk calving season underway May 12, 2022 rmotoday

... “Elk will be giving birth to their young and that’s a time they tend to have a heightened level of awareness and can display aggressive behaviour to people if they feel their calves are threatened,” ...


Toronto police 'humanely' euthanize deer whose leg got impaled on a fence in north Etobicoke neighbourhood April 21, 2022 Ontario, toronto.com

...  a deer struggling to free itself after impaling its left hind leg on the spikes of a neighbour’s metal fence... We weren’t sure how long the animal was stuck, but it was suffering ...


Fired forestry professor continues ringing alarm bells on glyphosate usage April 16, 2022 New Brunswick, The Western Standard

... Cumberland, who was formerly the chief deer biologist for New Brunswick, claims the heavy use of glyphosate in forestry has devastated the province’s white-tailed deer population, which has plummeted by over 70% since the mid-1980s...  claims he was fired for expressing his views on the forest industry’s use of the herbicide glyphosate ...


Oak Bay deer research continues, with lower fawn numbers noted April 11, 2022 British Columbia, Oak Bay News

... a report prepared for Oak Bay Council ... found that after a single year of IC treatment of 60 urban female black-tailed deer – estimated to be at least 63 per cent of the female population – Oak Bay saw a 58 per cent reduction in fawns for 2020...


COVID-19 confirmed in deer in New Brunswick; first case in an animal in Atlantic Canada April 7, 2022 CTV News

... The federal agency says the virus was detected in a free-ranging white-tailed deer in the Saint John region of New Brunswick.  Environment Canada has reported 56 cases of COVID-19 involving animals, including 13 pets, 40 wild animals and three mink farms ...


After harsh winter, emergency deer feeding underway in northern Ontario March 18, 2022 The Weather Network

... Deer will be fed a mixture of corn and oats... previous emergency deer feeding efforts have demonstrated this mixture is readily accepted by deer, will improve their condition and avoids the problems that are encountered when deer are fed a diet of pure corn...


Deer overpopulation means tough choices in Quebec March 1, 2022 Global News

... The government estimates the number of deer in Quebec at 250,000, largely concentrated in the south of the province, where densities in some places can reach 15 animals per square kilometre ... A tough, snowy winter can wipe out about 40 per cent of a herd through starvation ..,


New Coronavirus Lineage Discovered in Ontario Deer March 1, 2022 New York Times

... Scientists have identified a new, highly mutated version of the coronavirus in white-tailed deer in southwestern Ontario ... the lineage is unlikely to evade human antibodies...


Some hunters deterred by growing CWD rates in province February 16, 2022 980 CJME

... Chronic wasting disease (CWD) ... In the first 15 years — between 2000 and 2015 — Stasiak said about 500 total cases in the province were recorded. She said the same total has now been seen each year for the past three years...


Quebec to develop a plan to control and cull the white-tailed deer population February 12, 2022 CTV News

... The City of Longueuil had planned to cull half of the white-tailed deer population in Michel-Chartrand Park, or about 15 animals.  The city, however, backed down after the idea sparked outrage and even led to threats against the mayor...


Rare piebald deer a winter favourite at Cape Breton Wild  February 2, 2022 Nova Scotia, CTV News Atlantic

... “Alan” is a piebald white-tailed deer ... abandoned by his mother because he had contracted tendons in his hooves ... He couldn't stand on his hooves, so we had our vet come in, had to do some surgery on him and some physiotherapy... now he's standing on his hooves, and he's doing great."...


Longueuil deer killed in the fall February 1, 2022 Quebec, The Bobr Times

... At least sixty animals will have to be euthanized ...The City faces strong challenges to its decision to go ahead with euthanizing animals ... 


Pointed fence ban closer at Vern...on council in wake of deer impalements January 23, 2022 British Columbia, Castanet

... This follows discussion at council's last meeting in the wake of several deer impalements on pointed fence posts last year...


With COVID-19 now detected in Ontario deer, wildlife experts seek to fill research gap January 23, 2022 CBC News

... research is underway after the discovery of five white-tailed deer in southwestern Ontario that tested positive for COVID-19.  The Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mine, Natural Resources and Forestry confirmed these are the first cases reported in free-ranging wildlife in Ontario...


Town of Truro, N.S. looks at ways to manage growing deer population, including deer cull January 20, 2022 Nova Scotia, CTV Atlantic - CTV News

... Starting this week, four provincially certified crossbow hunters will embark on a deer hunt in Truro to track and kill 20 female deer... During the 2020 municipal election ... 53 per cent of those who voted (2,311 votes) said they were in favour of the cull, versus 1,728 who opposed the hunt...


Plan to use crossbows to kill nuisance deer in Nova Scotia town challenged by critics January 16, 2022 Infotel Kelowna

... "There been a lot of property damage, and it's not just gardens," said Mike Dolter, Truro's chief administrative officer. "Trees are getting eaten ... people are throwing carrots out the window ...


'Good God, it's cruelty': conservation officers in helicopters hunting diseased deer  December 17, 2021 Manitoba, Winnipeg Free Press

... Manitoba Conservation is being accused of using Rambo-like tactics to kill deer in the battle to find chronic wasting disease, by swooping in on the animals in a chopper and shooting them with semi-automatic weapons...


Vernon looks to ban pointed fences after deer impalements December 14, 2021 Britiish Columbia, Castanet

... The amendment comes after parts the city faced issues this year with wildlife getting impaled on spiked fences. In October, residents in the Middleton Mountain area mourned the death of a fawn they had watched since it was born...


Second Deer Infected With Chronic Wasting Disease Detected In Manitoba  December 10, 2021 Pembina Valley Online

... a second deer infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected in Manitoba ... Starting Dec. 13, a carefully coordinated effort to significantly reduce the deer population in the CWD containment zone will begin ...


Chronic wasting disease ravaging deer population near South Saskatchewan River December 1, 2021 Canada, Yahoo News

... Chronic wasting disease is devastating deer populations near the South Saskatchewan River Valley, with as many as 70 per cent of male deer testing positive for the fatal nervous system disease...


Covid Detected In 3 White-Tailed Deer, Confirms Canada December 2, 2021 NDTV

... the samples were collected in early November from the free-ranging animals in the Estrie region of Quebec along the border with the United States...


Montreal-area city revives plan to kill majority of deer herd in local park November 29, 2021 The Canadian Press 

...  A city south of Montreal has revived a controversial plan to kill most of the deer living in a local park, about a year after it backed off from a similar initiative because of public pressure...


Urban deer in Greater Victoria community to be put on birth control  August 24 2021 British Columbia, CBC.ca 

... Esquimalt will be the second Greater Victoria community to use birth control to manage the population of urban deer as part of a research project...Jason Fisher, adjunct professor at the University of Victoria's School of Environmental Studies, is leading the Esquimalt Deer Research ...


Courtenay manure pit in deer rescue meets requirements, district vice-chair says August 21, 2021 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... The big pit of liquid manure that trapped a young deer, prompting a Courtenay man to jump in and save it, meets all provincial requirements and doesn’t have to be fenced,..


Alberta uses hunters to reduce deer numbers in effort to slow spread of debilitating disease August August 16, 2021 CTV News

... Matt Besko, director of wildlife health and licensing for Alberta. "The entire population prevalence rates are somewhere between 12 and 14 per cent." ... A recent report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute warned the disease poses a risk to the agriculture industry and human health...


Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) avoid wellsite activity during winter, Alberta, Global Ecology and Conservation, 2021

... Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are threatened in Alberta in part due to the development of oil and gas resources... Caribou may benefit from management practices that include i) seasonal timing restrictions on drilling, ii) reductions of human activity at wellsites, whether in duration or intensity, iii) land-use planning to coordinate the placement of wellsites to minimize impacts to caribou and their habitat, and iv) prompt and effective restoration of wellsites to match original habitat conditions once production has stopped...


Some deer may have resistance to CWD August 5, 2021 Alberta, The Western Producer.

.. “It just fits in very nicely with data from the field that suggests 96S animals are less susceptible to CWD.”  The results, published in Nature Scientific Reports, offer some hope that wild populations may become more resistant to CWD as susceptible animals die off ...


Longueuil running out of options to control population of white-tailed deer in local park July 27, 2021 Montreal, Global News

... An animal-rescue group is trying to save a population of white-tailed deer population that has outgrown a Montreal-area park ... every solution ... has been turned down...


'A Very Long Way From Home': Deer Wanders Down 'Industrial' Street in Vancouver July 27, 2021 British Columbia, YAHOO!News

...  “The Vancouver Police were able to gently corral the deer in an alley and a conservation officer was able to tranquilize the deer to relocate it...


B.C. forests are 'bonfires waiting to go off' — are more fires the solution? July 26, 2021 British Columbia, NSNews

... Indigenous communities have used fire for thousands of years to ‘garden’ forests... would set fire to the land to open up clogged waterways for spawning salmon or clear foraging areas for moose and deer. The net effect, agree oral histories and forest ecologists, was to suppress mega-fires with low-intensity burns...


Sask. professor studies how boom in moth population threatens caribou July 23, 2021 Canada, CTV Toronto

...  spruce budworm outbreaks happen every 30 years and have similar effects on disruptions such as logging and forest fires.  The results of the moths killing forests leads to a “flush of vegetation of benefit to moose.” McLoughlin says more moose means more wolves which in turn, will threaten caribou...


Esquimalt launches birth control study for urban deer July 19, 2021 British Coliumbia, Victoria News

... Esquimalt will begin the work of vaccinating does with immunocontraceptives this summer ... Before the study, a survey was sent to local households, inviting residents to weigh in about their own experiences and location of deer interactions. Together, these steps helped inform the immunocontraceptive plan...


Esquimalt proceeding with birth control study on deer June 30, 2021 British Columbia, Saanich News

... The research is being done by the University of Victoria Applied Conservation Macro Ecology Lab.  This summer, a capture team consisting of a wildlife veterinarian and field technicians will tag 20 female control deer using darts...


Twenty-two cases of fast-spreading deer disease confirmed on islands  June 16, 2021 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... the remains of 36 deer were examined and 22 were found to have adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD) ... first emerged in California in 1993 ... B.C. hadn’t recorded any cases of the disease before last fall ...


Management‐mediated predation rate in the caribou–moose–wolf system: spatial configuration of logging activities matters - Ecosphere, 2021

... wolves were more successful when forest management required an extensive road network resulting in relatively high habitat fragmentation. Caribou agents experienced lower mortality in landscapes with low densities of road and disturbance-related edges ...


Public Can Weigh In On Deer Eradication Plan For Gulf Islands May 31, 2021 British Columbia, National Parks Traveler

... Parks Canada is seeking public input until June 17 on a plan to eradicate invasive deer on Sidney Island in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve ...


Proposed deer eradication on Sidney renews ethical questions May 23, 2021 British Columbia, Victoria News

... the animals were not part of the island’s historic ecology; their presence has crowded out the black tail deer, which have historically lived on the island ...  it is easy to see how the prospect of killing and processing an unknown number of animals could give the public pause ...

    Parks Canada seeks feedback on proposed invasive deer cull on Sidney Island near Victoria May 19, 2021 British Columbiua, CTV Edmonton

... Parks Canada is inviting public comments from now until June 17, which it says it will carefully consider...


Extent and direction of introgressive hybridization of mule and white‐tailed deer in western Canada May, 2020, Evolutionary Applications

... We observed overall hybridization rates of ~1.0%, slightly lower than that reported by previous studies, and found white-tailed-like hybrids to be more common than their mule deer-like counterparts...


To restore Sidney Island’s ecology, a push to kill hundreds of fallow deer May 16, 2021  British Columbia, Times Colonist

... The fallow deer were introduced on neighbouring James Island in 1902 by the owner at the time as prey for hunting parties... invaded Sidney Island in the early 1960s, when ponds were dug and the first standing fresh water became available to sustain them...


Coalition calls on BC to invest in wildlife stewardship May 14, 2021 British Columbia, Wildsight

... We now have several red-listed species, record low salmon and moose populations, and declining mountain sheep and mule deer populations in parts of the province...


Okotoks council approves deer management strategy May 12, 2021 Alberta, Calgary Herald

... begun a temporary fencing pilot project to allow homeowners to further cordon off their properties to keep deer out... “I know a lot of the residents in town enjoy having them there ... other actions that will be taken as part of the management strategy include prohibiting intentional and unintentional feeding, education, hazing, speed zonechanges ...


Habitat protection alone won't save endangered caribou in BC, recovery program director says May 2, 2021 British Columbia, CBC.ca

... A report published earlier this week said the province's approach of preserving caribou habitat has been failing and the caribou population will become extinct if changes aren't made soon...


Visiting hunters did terrible harm to Okanagan wildlife in the early 1900s April 25, 2021 British Columbia, Castanet

... Big game abounds in caribou, white and black-tailed deer [in 1891] ... over the next few years hunters came from far and wide ... In a 1912 Vernon News special holiday edition, pioneer Mr. Leckie-Ewing noted big game in the Okanagan had decreased significantly ..,


Gaspé caribou, the last of herds that once roamed the Maritimes, face extinction April 18, 2021 Quebec, Yahoo News

... Overhunting and other factors wiped the herd out of existence in New Brunswick in the early part of the 20th century.  And, if things don't change soon, scientist Martin-Hugues St-Laurent believes the last herd will be gone before the middle of this century...


Longueuil looks to manage deer herd that roams between hunting grounds and playgrounds April 17, 2021 Quebec, Yahoo News

... one of the leading activists who fought to save the deer is tasked with following through with his promise to relocate the animals, but his first proposal was rejected by an ethics committee over safety concerns...


Pesky urban deer prompt Alberta town to seek ways to control population April 14, 2021 Alberta, CBC.ca

... allows people to raise their backyard fences up to about 2.3 metres (7.5 feet) which will keep the deer out ... This way we get to preserve our gardens, the deer are deprived of food, the deer aren't hurt, doesn't cost the council a penny...


  Nova Scotia man pulls off daring deer rescue in frigid water  March 23, 2021 CBC.ca

... "We weren't going anywhere, so towing the deer didn't seem like an option," ... hauled it into the canoe ... For a good five minutes, it stood on the shore, shivering, its legs splayed out...


  Running deer stops to share apples with man snacking in the forest  March 21, 2021 Ontario, Yahoo

... There is a beautiful forest in Ontario, Canada where the deer cannot be hunted. They have no reason to fear humans ... After several apples, the deer casually ...


 walked away. Declining caribou population victim of ecological chain reaction March 18, 2021 British Columbia, Science Daily

... . "Caribou are declining across Canada and have been recently lost in the Lower 48 States," ... "We found that increased deciduous vegetation on the landscape, which moose like to eat, increased moose populations, which increased wolves, and in turn, means declining caribou," ...


Declining Vancouver Island cougar populations linked to wolves March 1, 2021 British Columbia, lakecowichangazette

... deer populations on Vancouver Island were spiking, but began to decline through the ‘90s, around the same time wolves began to recolonize the land... this factor could have also impacted cougar density on the Island, as they had less to eat, and wolves will tend to eat some cougar cubs...


Assessing Ungulate Populations in Temperate North America February, 2021, Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management

... we review major methods for estimating both absolute and relative abundance of

ungulate populations across temperate North America, where season and habitat provide a further challenge to selecting and developing an appropriate survey method for a given species...


Fate up in the air for Longueuil deer after relocation plan is nixed February 19, 2021 Quebec, Global News 

... Everything from the way the animals were corralled to the mode of transportation was concerning and endangered the animals, the ethics committee said... Sauvetage Animal Rescue is expected to submit another proposal next week...


Dead deer found in Kelowna neighbourhood February 13, 2021 British Columbia, Global News

... In the video, a man appears on the resident's property in broad daylight, armed with a loaded crossbow, allegedly trying to track down a wounded deer...  It’s not only harmful to wild life but it also jeopardizes public safety...


Westside deer impaled by fence believed dead January 5, 2020 British Columbia, lakecountrycalendar.com

... Just days after issuing a warning about deadly fences, conservation officers responded to yet another impaled deer.  A wrought iron fence with pointed pickets ...


Westside woman angry, deer gets impaled by wrought-iron picket fence December 5, 2020 British Columbia, Castanet

... “This morning my son started screaming because the deer was hung up on the fence and the mother deer was in my yard crying. ... It’s not something little like they break their leg. They're disemboweled ...


Two deer were euthanized this week after getting entangled in wrought iron fences December 31, 2020 British Columbia, Castanet

... a doe impaled in a double top railed wrought-iron fence in the Carrington Road area of West Kelowna.  Just days before on, Dec. 26, officers pulled down another deer speared by pointed pickets rising above a top rail on a wrought-iron fence ...


'He's the deer of the year': Carrot on way to recovery after arrow pulled from head December 21, 2020 Ontario, The Guardian

... None of the team in the remote community of Kenora had ever undertaken such an operation, so a veterinarian 2,000km away in Ottawa gave detailed instructions over the telephone. The arrow was removed without any bleeding ...

  'Carrot the magic deer' unfazed by crossbow bolt through head December 15, 2020 Ontario, CTV News

... when Carrot came to their property in Kenora, Ont., Carver’s husband saw the bolt first and rushed inside in tears to tell his wife...  the bolt appeared to have missed any vital arteries or organs. “He’s still completely affectionate, and forgiving ...


Evaluating the Mechanisms of Landscape Change on White‐Tailed Deer Populations

M Laurent, M Dickie, M Becker, R Serrouya, S Boutin - The Journal of Wildlife …, 2020, Alberta, Canada

... Changing climate and anthropogenic landscape alteration are hypothesized to facilitate white‐tailed deer expansion... Winter deer density was best explained by snow depth only, whereas spring density was best explained by both habitat alteration and the previous winter's snow depth...


  Deer shot with an arrow spotted in Uplands December 18, 2020 British Columbua, Times Colonist

...  officers are hoping to locate and assess a buck that was seen on the Uplands Golf Club Thursday with an arrow stuck in its side... arrow protruding from the buck’s left side, near its front leg...


Short Hills deer harvest in its eighth year December 17, 2020 Ontario, The Voice of Pelham

... approximately 50 to 70 Indigenous hunters entered the park last Thursday. As light faded late in the afternoon and they exited the park, hunters were met by a small throng of fewer than a dozen well-behaved protesters ...


Vets want province to prohibit restocking on Sask. deer, elk farms that report chronic wasting disease November 28, 2020  Saskatchewan, cbc.ca 

... The province of Saskatchewan says it's not planning to change legislation for farms that raise animals such as deer or elk, despite a call from veterinarians to prohibit restocking on farms where chronic wasting disease cases have been reported...


Longueuil mayor backs out of deer cull operation at Michel-Chartrand park November 23, 2020 Quebec, Global News

... The operation was underway Monday afternoon, with traps placed across the park and police officers patrolling the area.  In a Facebook post published late on Monday, Parent said she was forced to change her decision ...

     Quebec city set to kill white-tailed deer relents, will move to relocate them instead November 23, 2020 Quebec, The Canadian Press 

... Goldwater, an animal rights activist, urged the city to meet with her to discuss the situation. She said the animals will be treated well and examined from "the tip of the ears to the tip of their hooves" before they are sedated and transported to a sanctuary... These deer are semi-domestic ...

     Longueuil deer cull triggers protest November 14, 2020 Quebec, Global News

... "The Miller Zoo wants to take them, the animal rescue is willing to catch them and transport them," ... "We know that it's possible to move these animals because we do this many times and we have a place for them," ... the city would not change its plans despite the zoo's offer...

Longueuil, Online petition to save Longueuil deer from planned cull gains steam November 13, 2020 Quebec, Global News

... An online petition opposing the City of Longueuil’s decision to capture and cull half of the white-tailed deer living in Michel-Chartrand Park has collected more than 28,000 signatures ...

     Quebec town to cull half of the deer population at local park November 11, 2020 The Star

... The City of Longueuil says the deer population in Michel-Chartrand Park is twice the roughly 15 deer the park can support... there were about 32 deer in the park as of 2017 ... An online petition opposed to the cull has been circulating ...


Province tracks potential deadly deer virus outbreak on Gulf Islands October 10, 2020 British Columbia, Coast Mountain News

...  has killed more than 60 deer on two Southern Gulf Islands.  Although Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD) is suspected as the cause, further testing is required to confirm a definitive diagnosis...


Oak Bay, Deer contraceptive program in Oak Bay deemed successful, but challenges remain October 4, 2020 British Columbia, CHEK

... the project has managed to vaccinate approximately 75 per cent of Oak Bay’s deer population with birth control.  “I’d say 70 to 80 per cent of the vaccinated does will be effectively contracepted so that means only 20 to 30 percent of them will have fawns compared to 95 per cent will have fawns without the vaccine,”  [ wildlife veterinarian Adam Hering] ...


Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease, New deer disease suspected to have killed over 60 deer on B.C.'s Gulf Islands  British Columbia, CBC.ca

... The cause of death is suspected to be adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD), a virus that was initially discovered in California, but has so far never been recorded in B.C...


2020 Canadian hunting forecast September 25, 2020 Outdoor Canada

... White-tailed deer numbers are up just about everywhere ... elk numbers are stable or growing, moose and mule deer populations are up or recovering from recent declines  ... Saskatchewan:  Thanks to the recent mild winters, mule deer numbers have grown throughout much of the province ...  white-tailed ... deer populations are up ... Manitoba: white-tailed deer numbers are up ... Ontario:  preceding severe winter. This past winter was about average, however, and that should help improve populations ..,


Cranbrook, City to lobby provincial government for urban deer population management September 15, 2020 British Columbia, Cranbrook Townsman

... Wildlife officials penned a letter to council expressing concerns over the potential spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in local deer ... The City of Cranbrook has conducted a number of culls over the last decade to manage the urban deer population, however, results have varied ... spent over $100,000 to remove 150 deer ...


Truro to vote on crossbow cull of growing deer population September 11, 2020 Nova Scotia, CBC.ca

... Shrubs are damaged ... two years ago ... a couple hunters who had left the hunting area and seeing people walking through the park with crossbows made people "very uncomfortable" ...


  Oh, deer! Thousands of animals safely crossed Okanagan Connector last summer September 9, 2020 British Columbia, Vancouver Sun

... The number of safe crossings done by mule deer alone along Highway 97C (the Okanagan Connector between Kelowna and Aspen Grove), using 11 underpasses and one overpass between April and October last year, was more than 3,700...


Mule deer and bighorn sheep benefit from wildfires September 7, 2020 British Columbia, Infotel.ca

... There’s a lot of plants that are dependant on fire to regenerate. Fire clears out smaller shrubs that become less edible for some species, while allowing other plants to grow that are often more nutritious for sheep and deer, he said.  “Fire isn’t such a terrible thing if we can find a place on the landscape for it to go,” ...


CWD, Mandatory sampling program for deadly deer disease September 4, 2020 British Columbia, Alaska Highway News

... The province is continuing a mandatory sampling program for Chronic Wasting Disease this fall for deer harvested in the Kootenays...The disease has not yet been detected in B.C., however, 64 animals in the area around Libby, Montana, have been discovered with the disease since June 2019 ...


Seasonal and inter-annual variation in diet for gray wolves Canis lupus in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan  JR Shave, SG Cherry, AE Derocher, D Fortin - Wildlife Biology, 2020

... The Sturgeon River plains bison (SRPB) population in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan is one of only a few populations of plains bison in their historical range in Canada and have declined around 50% since 2005... We found the percentage of bison (median range: 26–39%), deer/elk (21–24%) and moose (16–33%) consumed in the summer was consistently high, compared to winter when white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus comprised the highest percentage of wolf diet (40–49%)...


  Conservation officers locate and free deer caught up in wire fencing in the BC Interior August 25, 2020 British Columbia, Kelowna

... officers in Grand Forks received a call about the animal ...“The deer was safely sedated and the wire fencing removed,” ...


Canadians join lawsuit to overturn opening Alaska wilderness to energy drilling August 24, 2020 Red Deer Advocate

... “No one should stand by idly while the birthing grounds of the caribou are sold for oil and gas,” ... The herd returns every year to calve along an ecologically rich strip of Alaska’s north coast...


Large‐scale prion protein genotyping in Canadian caribou populations and potential impact on chronic wasting disease susceptibility August 2020, MI Arifin, A Staskevicius, SY Shim, YH Huang… - Molecular Ecology

... Reindeer carrying at least one allele encoding for asparagine (138NN or 138SN) are less susceptible to clinical CWD upon infection by natural routes, with the majority of prions limited to extraneural tissues...


New data reveals how mule deer use wildlife crossings on Hwy 97C August 16, 2020 British Columbia, Castanet

... The potential for at least 3,700 collisions between vehicles and mule deer were avoided on the Okanagan Connector last year, according to new data from the Ministry of Transportation... the province has compiled a year's worth of data collected at 11 wildlife crossings ...


Comparing Survival and Movements of Non‐Urban and Urban Translocated Mule Deer  CA Wright, IT Adams, P Stent, AT Ford - The Journal of Wildlife Management, 2020 British Columbia

... Annual survival of translocated deer was 0.48 and was significantly lower than survival of non‐urban deer, which was 0.77. We observed 20 of 57 collared translocated deer return to a town after translocation... 


Province Consulting on Further Steps to Protect Ontario's Deer, Elk and Moose Population July 15 2020 Ontario.ca

... The Ontario government is seeking public input on a proposal to increase protections for the province's wildlife populations from Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)... While it has not been detected in Ontario, it is important for hunters, wildlife management and the general public to remain vigilant...


Fire suppression efforts, timber extractions and highways changing life for declining mule deers July 14, 2020 British Columbia, iNFOnews

... Roughly 100 mule deer are wearing tracking collars as part of the Southern Interior Mule Deer Project, an ongoing study to understand the drastic decline in mule deer populations ... 


 Evaluating the Extent of Hybridization between Mule and White-tailed Deer in Western Canada  T Russell - 2020

...  We observed overall hybridization rates of 0.3-1.1%, slightly lower than reported elsewhere in the greater hybrid zone. The admixed individuals are independent of geographical factors and no significant association between hybridization and CWD infection status was found. Although the two species often exist in sympatry and share similar diets and life history traits, interspecific gene flow appears to be prevented by a number of pre and postzygotic barriers to reproduction, including fine-scale habitat segregation and severe underdominance of hybrid offspring...

Industry, mild winters clear way for white-tailed deer 'invasion' in Alberta's boreal forest  July 3, 2020 Alberta, CBC.ca

... white-tailed deer continue to migrate north in Alberta's boreal forest — bolstered by milder winters and human development that cuts through the vast wilderness ... their populations are thriving, often at the expense of other species, including fragile populations of woodland caribou ...


Mother deer will leave babies for up to 12 hours a day July 1, 2020 British Columbia, BC Local News

... Mother deer will leave their babies for up to 12 hours a day so even if the mother is not around it has probably not been abandoned unless you see a dead mother nearby...


Integrated Population Modeling for White‐Tailed Deer in Saskatchewan, Canada

DJ Messmer, AE Henderson, TM Whiklo, KR Conkin - The Journal of Wildlife …, 2020

...  Our approach modeled demographic processes for age‐specific (0.5‐, 1.5‐, ≥2.5‐year‐old classes) populations and was fit to count and recruitment data via models that allowed for error in the respective observation processes...  In years with colder than average temperatures and above average snow depth, recruitment was depressed, whereas the negative effect of snow depth reversed in years with above average temperatures...


An empirical analysis of hunter response to chronic wasting disease in Alberta

JK Pattison-Williams, L Xie, WL Adamowicz, M Pybus… - Human Dimensions of …, 2020

... Results indicated that hunters are continuing to apply to hunt mule deer in areas with CWD and this relationship is not statistically impacted by the increasing prevalence of CWD. This outcome may be because CWD prevalence in Alberta is relatively low (but increasing), which is consistent with the literature indicating that few hunters avoid CWD zones until prevalence increases dramatically...


Province’s $1.2-million fence project to keep wildlife off Coquihalla Highway begins next week June 20, 2020 British Columbia, Chilliwack Progress

... The Coquihalla Highway sees around 160 wildlife crashes each year, 75 per cent of which involve deer. The new fencing  ... will redirect animals to existing wildlife underpasses...


Edmonton, Deer-impaling fence will be modified June 18, 2020 Alberta, CTV News

... Three deer and a moose have impaled themselves while trying to jump the spiked fence in recent years...The City will be proceeding with ordering the materials needed to retrofit the fence ...


Another deer dies, impaled on iron fence in Cameron Heights June 13, 2020 CBC.ca

...  "The deer was just screaming." Wieschorster said they tried to lift the deer off the stake, but it was too heavy to move... "We've already had three deer and a moose that have been impaled on this fence ⁠— the suffering is really quite gruesome." ...


Oak Bay deer project off to promising start June 9, 2020 British Columbia, CHEK News

... “The only fawns we’ve seen have been from our control group of deers. So that means they’re the does that did not receive the contraceptive”  ... Sixty female dear were given birth control, while a control group of 20, tagged with pink collars were left alone...


Chronic wasting disease continues to expand westward threatening deer populations May 26, 2020 Alberta, CTV News

... Alberta recorded an all-time high number of cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in 2019, finding infected deer further west than ever before... Mandatory testing of deer heads from hunters last year turned up 1,158 cases ...


B.C. Conservation reunites young deer with family on Vancouver Island May 22, 2020 British Columbia, CTV News

... concerned citizen picked up the deer after spotting it alone near a busy roadway...


'Probably the biggest mule deer project to ever occur in this province' May 21, 2020 British Columbia, 100 Mile House Free Press

... The project looks to identify the effect of wildfire on mule deer habitat selection and population growth ... We are looking at mechanisms that limit mule deer abundance in Southern British Columbia ... If mule deer are doing well, it typically means that a lot of other species are thriving as well ...


Residents show love for deer in Oak Bay survey May 10, 2020 British Columbia, Oak Bay News

... As for the deer population, 54 per cent of respondents believe the number of deer should be permitted to increase. One third are OK with the current population...


Deer fence issue emotional for one Kelowna councillor  May 5, 2020 British Columbia, Castanet

... "Tragically, I spent a number of years working with a wildlife recovery centre and in the environment, and I had two personal incidences with deer hung up on these poles," said Hodge.  "I can tell you right now, it takes one experience like that for you to say they should never be allowed...


Oak Bay ups deer management budget to $96,100 for 2020 February 25, 2020 British Columbia, BC Local News

... The deer vaccination program will continue in Oak Bay in 2020 as the province approved $42,366 in funding ... In 2019 more than 650 Oak Bay property owners volunteered access to their properties so the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society crew could tag and inject does with the immuno-contraceptive...


 Anthropogenic Disturbance and Population Viability of Woodland Caribou in Ontario

JM Fryxell, T Avgar, B Liu, JA Baker, AR Rodgers… - The Journal of Wildlife …, 2020

...  Our results suggest that increased wolf predation risk due to anthropogenic disturbance is of sufficient magnitude to cause appreciable risk of population decline in woodland caribou in Ontario...


Trap vandalism impacting urban deer cull February 7, 2020 British Columbia, Kimberley Bulletin

... Seven out of 10 traps available from the province have been damaged enough to make them unusable, while game cameras set up to monitor those traps, given vandalism to clover traps during deer cull efforts in the past, were also stolen...


Chronic Wasting Disease contained in Québec, but the disease is difficult to eliminate February 8, 2020 Northcountrypublicradio.org

... found on a domestic deer farm in Avoca, Québec in the Laurentides region in the fall of 2018... mule deer at the Metro Toronto Zoo died from an unspecified disease in the 1970s. Samples of tissue from the dead deer were re-tested many years later and found to be CWD...


Spiked fences dangerous to deer, other wildlife: BC Conservation Officer Service February 6, 2020 British Columbia, BC Local News

... BCCOS said spiked fences can cause animals to suffer as they struggle to free themselves and in many cases, they die stuck on the fence or officers are forced to euthanize them...


Chronic Wasting Disease measures have worked, according to Québec government January 28, 2020 The Review Newspaper

... Wildlife management officials in Québec are claiming progress has been made with operations to detect and control Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) ... no cases of CWD have been detected in the 1,358 tissue samples taken from whitetail deer ...


Wildlife centre warns about dangers of wrought-iron fences after deer dies January 29, 2020 Ontario, CBC.ca

... a deer was attempting to hop over a wrought-iron fence near St. Peter's Seminary when its back legs were caught and impaled in the structure... due to the extent of its injuries, it was put down shortly after...


  Deer rescued after falling through ice on Skaha Lake January 20, 2020, British Columbia, BC Local News

...  its tail was bitten off - on the ice ... The deer had likely been chased by a coyote, which was spotted...  the deer was taken to safety & released into the wild (its injuries weren’t critical) ...


Kimberley's annual deer count January 9, 2020 British Columbia, Kimberley Bulletin

... Of the 69 deer counted, there were 28 does, 28 fawns and 12 bucks, and one unclassified... “We use the same method annually. At this time, the trend indicates the population is stable. The counts are conducted by knowledgeable volunteers, usually during November or December while snow is on the ground...


  Saskatchewan conservation officer frees deer locked with another buck January 4, 2020 Global News 

... the live deer couldn’t get free from a dead buck that was partially eaten by coyotes...


B.C. conservation officers rescue deer entangled by toboggan: ‘Thankfully it was not injured’ January 3, 2019 British Columbia, Global News

...  a hiker in the Williams Lake area came across the deer, whose antlers appeared to ensnared by a toboggan...


Richmond man fined $8K for wounding mule deer doe in stomach with crossbow December 27, 2019 British Columbia, CBC.ca 

... shot the doe in the stomach with an arrow, causing it to flee the property ...  did not have a licence to hunt mule deer.... The mule deer doe had two fawns ...


Ontario takes proactive approach to deadly deer disease December 20, 2019 The Hamilton Spectator

... the Ontario government announced on Thursday that it has a plan in place to deal with chronic-wasting disease (CWD) — if it rears its head in the province.  The fatal brain disorder that mostly affects deer and elk has been found in 2018 on a deer farm in Quebec, close to the Ontario border...


Growing White-tailed deer population prompts possible antlerless LEH for 2020 December 18, 2019 British Columbia, BC Local News

... The proposal targets several management units around Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, and is in response to the growing White-tailed deer population in the Cariboo region ,,,


  Cranbrook deer died painfully when trap collapsed: animal welfare group December 16, 2019 British Columbia, CTV News

... An animal rights organization in Cranbrook says a deer suffered unnecessarily when a cage-like trap that was supposed to hold it until morning somehow collapsed and, they believe, slowly suffocated the deer..


Deer that may have been hunted in area known for chronic wasting disease located  November 21, 2019 British Columgia, Victoria News

... the animals thought to be harvested south of Calgary by Nanaimo hunters have been located and the investigation continues...  an area in Alberta known for cases of chronic wasting disease...


UWSS science-based Oak Bay Urban Deer Research Project Update November 11, 2019 British Columbia, Oak Bay News

... Dr. Adam Hering, along with Dr. Jason Fisher and his team of grad students, other wildlife biologists, students and community members from Oak Bay and beyond, sedated and then administered an immuno-contraceptive to 60 does...


Cranbrook residents rally against plans for deer cull November 5, 2019 British Columbia, Global News

... Cranbrook residents are protesting the city’s plan for an urban deer cull. Council says it’s a public safety issue...


Oak Bay, Modern deer hunters fire birth-control darts November 3, 2019 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... Hering is the lead wildlife veterinarian of the Oak Bay Deer Project,.. attempting to reduce the number of wild deer in the municipality... dart projector — a modified rifle capable of firing vaccine-laden darts ... immunocontraceptive ... We have vaccinated 60 does and there are another 17 with GPS collars...


The evolution of Cranbrook’s deer herd October 30, 2019 British Columbia, BC Local News

...  15-20 years ago, there was no urban deer herd... Then came the big fire season of 2003, when wildfires burned all around us, driving fleeing wildlife in our direction.   ...  demonstration, trained dogs, keeping a respectful distance, would herd the deer out-of-town (the demonstration in this instance used ducks instead of deer, but the point was made). I always thought this method had potential, but in B.C. it is still not permitted...


Slowing down wolves to protect boreal caribou populations: a spatial simulation model of linear feature restoration  MC Spangenberg, R Serrouya, M Dickie, CA DeMars… - Ecosphere, 2019

... In Canada, boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are declining in numbers, in part due to increased predation by wolves (Canis lupus). One management option to reduce wolf–caribou interactions and thus protect caribou is to remove man-made linear features (LFs), structures such as roads, trails, and cut lines, which are used by wolves as traveling paths... 


This part of BC has the highest concentration of cougars in the world October 18, 2019 British Columbia, PrinceGeorgeMatters.com

... According to the University of Victoria, roughly 4000 of the solitary creatures live in Canada ... on Vancouver Island ... around the 600 to 800 range, but population estimates are difficult ... the Island puma population is considered healthy, and their primary prey, the black-tailed deer, is plentiful..,


Oak Bay goes non-lethal in deer-control experiment; contraception for 60 does October 16, 2019 British Columbia, Times Colonist

...  the immuno-contraception vaccine — called porcine zona pellucida — causes the production of antibodies that prevent fertilization of eggs... the potential to be a significant solution for any municipality across North America looking to co-exist with urban wildlife,” said Kristy Kilpatrick, president of the non-profit Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society ...

     Oak Bay, Urban deer get birth control to curb overpopulation October 13, 2019 British Deer News, YAHOO!

... study into deer contraceptives ... For the study, 20 female deer won't receive any birth control. Another 40 to 50 does within the population will receive the contraceptive shot...


Chronic wasting disease threatens the Kootenays October 11, 2019 British Columbia, Columbia Valley Pioneer

... an imminent threat to Kootenay ecology, particularly as hunting season continues along the U.S. border. CWD is present, and under heavy surveillance, in Alberta and Libby Montana, 60 km south of the B.C. border...


Caribou numbers up 49 per cent after four-year wolf cull October 8, 2019 British Columbia, Vancouver Sun

... The population of three mountain caribou herds in the South Peace region has risen by 49 per cent just four years into an experimental wolf cull program ... the report concludes “it is highly recommended that wolf reduction continue to be implemented” until the herds are self-sustaining...


Province won't relocate nuisance deer, says minister October 7, 2019 New Brunswick, CBC.ca

...  Mike Holland says the solution will not involve relocating wildlife...the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick passed a resolution, proposed by the Town of Saint Andrews, saying that because the province is responsible for wildlife management it should "immediately intervene to capture, relocate and reintegrate nuisance urban deer found in non-huntable locations."...


Edmonton, Nearly a year later, residents still waiting for developer to fix fence that impales deer October 5, 2019 Alberta, YAHOO!

... Two deer were euthanized after they were impaled on spikes that run along the top of the fence... About 1,800 people signed the petition...  the city has approved spending $60,066 toward a retrofit to the ornamental fence ...


Oak Bay,Deer decked out for colourful contraception campaign September 30, 2019 British Columgia, Oak Bay News

... Spearheaded by the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society, orange-vested teams have successfully immuno-contracepted 55 deer in less than three weeks... The colour-coded tags match a simple, coloured collar ... The identification collars fit high on the doe’s neck, and more snugly than the GPS collars, minimizing chafing noticed from some of the GPS collars...


BC makes CWD deer head submissions mandatory September 26, 2019 British Columbia, Western Producer

... Hunters in British Columbia’s Kootenay region are required to submit deer heads for testing of chronic wasting disease following the discovery of nine cases along the Montana border...


Municipalities, landowners, not pleased with Québec deer management plan September 16, 2019 Quebec, The Review Newspaper

... In response to the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a domestic red deer herd in Boileau in 2018 ...  measures to maintain a low-density deer population in the southern Laurentians in order to reduce contact between animals and prevent any undetected cases of CWD from spreading...


Oak Bay deer contraception program underway September 6, 2019 British Columbia, Victoria News

...  the owners of about 600 Oak Bay houses have signed up to volunteer access to their property... The crew and veteranarian are visible in their yellow vests. They start at dawn and work until about noon...


Pictou County's 'significant' deer problem September 4, 2019 Nova Scotia, TheChronicleHerald.ca

... white tailed deer populations were at their highest in 1954 and 1985. Their numbers dropped off significantly in the years after both booms, and each decline was followed by a period where the populations leveled off.  According to the DLF website, the province of Nova Scotia is capable of supporting a herd of approximately 100,000 deer in the pre-hunting season...


Chronic wasting disease in the deer and moose population August 30, 2019 Quebec, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs - Gouvernement du Québec

... Québec is engaged in an active fight against the disease. It has set up a network to monitor and analyze animals in the wild. No animals in the wild cervid population have tested positive for the disease to date...


Hunters call for steps to stop 'Zombie deer disease' epidemic August 19, 2019 Saskatchewan, Yahoo News Canada

... In 2018, hunters harvested 34,930 white-tailed and mule deer in Saskatchewan, according to government records. Of those, only a small fraction of heads were submitted for testing — 2,000 samples or roughly six per cent.  Of those, about 17 percent of the submitted samples tested positive for CWD ...


New Brunswick turns to bow hunt to control deer in populated areas August 13, 2019, Alaska Highway News

... hunts have killed 476 deer so far, but Kennedy said more deer are migrating into the communities and reproducing at a rapid rate... "The latest number provided by the department is that we have over 20 deer per square kilometre,"...


  Deer shot after being found with crossbow bolt in its leg August 2, 2019 British Columbia,Times Colonist

... had to be shot by Victoria police Friday morning after it was found with a crossbow bolt in its leg ... the bolt was in a joint of one of the deer’s hind legs...


Expand Oak Bay deer birth control across region, say Victoria mayor and councillor   July 30, 2019 British Columbia, Times Colonist

... we’re all saying we’d like to get on board with what Oak Bay is doing now, which is the immunocontraceptive program, because we see that as the way of the future,” Desjardins said... Researchers collected data on population density and distribution by putting radio collars on 20 does last year, and setting up 39 remote cameras ...


A Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease in British Columbia C Nelson, HM Schwantje - 2019

... (the Plan) provides a framework for the CWD technical and working groups... The objectives of the Plan are to: 1) assess the risk of CWD for B.C.; 2) guide the provincial CWD technical and regional working groups; 3) provide management guidelines to prevent disease entry and to ensure early detection; 4) provide recommendations for ongoing education ...


Oak Bay residents eager to sign up for deer control July 17, 2019 British Columbia,

Times Colonist

...  More than 150 quickly responded to a request from Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch this week to register their properties so they’re available to those administering the immunocontraception vaccine to deer... it’s hoped as many as 80 female deer will be given ... vaccine ...

    Oak Bay to launch new deer contraceptive program in September July 16, 2019 British Columbia, victoriabuzz.com

... “Immuno-contraception (IC) is a type of vaccine that induces the animal to produce antibodies that prevent fertilization and the formation of an embryo,” explains the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society (UWSS), who will be leading the program...


Growing Risk Diseased Deer Meat Is Ending Up on Canadians’ Tables, Critics Warn July 15, 2019  Canada, The Tyee

... advocates are charging that the current approach by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is putting the public at risk by allowing deer meat that could be infected with CWD to be sold to unsuspecting customers... a recent public letter signed by scientists and economists demanding stricter controls on CWD ...


Environmental group putting pressure on New Brunswick to ban herbicide spraying July 15, 2019  Globalnews.ca

... “We need to begin to explore ways to manage our Province’s vast forests without the use of these chemicals ...  put pressure on the government to end spraying, citing a decline in the province’s deer population ...

Forestry college cuts ties with former director who defended fired instructor July 4, 2019 New Brunswick, Yahoo News

... Gerald Redmond, the former director of the Maritime College of Forest Technology who was still teaching at the school, was told Thursday his "services were no longer needed."The decision comes less than 24 hours after Redmond publicly criticized the dismissal of a well-known instructor at the Fredericton-based college...

     Fired college instructor's views on glyphosate at root of dismissal, says former colleague July 3, 2019 New Brunswick, CBC.ca

... Gerald Redmond, the college's former executive director who retired in 2017, said he was pressured during his tenure to reprimand Cumberland.  He said Cumberland's outspokenness against glyphosate is probably the "real reason" why he was fired... he began publicly discussing the effects of the herbicide glyphosate on New Brunswick's forests and, in particular, the deer population...


Why did deer meat from an infected herd end up in Canada's food chain? June 22, 2019 Quebec, CBC.ca

... chronic wasting disease (CWD) — was detected in a Quebec deer farm... 3,000 deer in the herd. Eleven tested positive for CWD. The rest  ... tested negative and were released into the food chain... "A negative test result does not guarantee that an individual animal is not infected with CWD." ...


Deer shot with bow and arrow left to suffer in B.C. community June 11, 2019 British Columbia, Vancouver Is Awesome

... “The mule deer was running through someone’s yard and ran through 10 other yards bleeding quite heavily,” ... Conservation officers want to find the suffering deer ...


Ontario Updating CWD Plan as Cases Draw Closer June 10, 2019 WDIO

... CWD was recently found in Quebec near the Ontario border and also in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and other states bordering Ontario. The Ministry of Naural Resouces and Forestry has tested more than 12,000 wild deer and elk for CWD since 2002 ...


Deer populations increasing, harvest allocation may increase June 5, 2019 Alberta, Macleod Gazette Online

... Deer numbers appear to be increasing in the foothills and on the prairie... Both whitetail and mule deer are above goal populations in wildlife management units in the Bow-Crow area of southwest Alberta ...


MNRF hopes to grow moose population June 1, 2019 Ontario, DrydenNow.com

... Aerial surveys have shown declining calf moose numbers in recent years across Ontario ... potential benefits from changing quota settings and hunting rules can include increasing adult tag quotas by growing the moose population, and by decreasing the harvest of calves...

Calls for Canadian zoo to be shut down after deer die in stampede May 26, 2019 Ontario, The Guardian

... two deer were killed in a stampede allegedly caused by a father and son taunting the animals... has prompted staff to temporarily close the deer park area...


NB lost 20% of deer population during winter, according to estimates May 18, 2019 New Brunswick, CBC.ca

... About 20 per cent of New Brunswick's herd is estimated to have died over the winter. That's about six per cent more than average.  Deer in the north of the province fared the worst, where about 30 per cent died...


Pregnant deer rescued from ice in Lake Rosseau April 23, 2019 Ontario, CTV News Barrie

... a deer standing on thin ice about 100 feet from shore. They stopped their truck for a closer look and said they saw another deer trapped in the ice and fighting to get free...“Somehow she knew he was there to help and allowed him to lead her through the ice and back to shore.” ...


Figueiras Park, Deer belong here April 10, 2019 British Columbia, BC Local News

... We are seniors here, most of us anyway, and animals are calming ... Who are we to take away this beauty? ... The deer belong here and I stand up for their rights, their very existence ...


Declining mule deer numbers prompts study April 4, 2019 British Columbia, BCLocalNews

... Why are some of our Interior mule deer populations declining? How are predators and the recent huge wildfires affecting them? ... B.C.’s largest collaborative mule deer study was launched last year...


Deer cull looks unlikely April 1, 2019 British Columbia, Castanet

... city staff recommending against taking action on the city’s urban deer population... urge council to maintain the status quo and work with the RDOS on public education — stating Penticton’s urban deer problem is not as severe as communities in the Kootenays that have active culls...


Kelowna’s conservation office wants a ban on spiked fences after 10 deer impaled  March 27, 2019 British Columbia, Global News

... a wrought-iron fence with pointed pickets sticking out the top ... since the beginning of 2019, 10 deer have been found dead or needing to be euthanized ...


City of Cranbrook concludes urban deer removal efforts, culls three deer

Kimberley Bulletin

... The city says it targeted specific areas for deer removal based on complaints of deer aggression made last year. Much of the concern over aggression has focused on white-tail deer and not mule deer, according to statistics cited by the city... 


Are Canada’s food banks getting diseased deer? March 22, 2019 Maclean's on MSN.com

... Most comes from animals seized or harvested by provincial conservation officers, which is tested [for chronic wasting]. Meat from animals received from hunters is ground, then set aside pending assurance from the hunter—on an honour system—that the animal tested negative... Testing is not 100 per cent conclusive ...


Immediate population management needed to save remaining caribou herds, study shows March 12, 2019 Alberta, Phys.org

... "Four herds in B.C. and Alberta have gone extinct over the last 25 years and there are less than 3,000 woodland caribou in the study area in the two provinces." ... The most dramatic population surge occurred In the Klines-Za population, north of Prince George, BC, where maternal penning and wolf removal strategies were used. In three years, the herd nearly doubled, from 36 to more than 67...


Impaled deer prompts call for fencing changes in Oak Bay March 8, 2019 British Columbia, Sooke News Mirror

...  was impaled all the way through,” says Krekorian. “The spike was coming out and I could see her hind legs — underneath, she was torn from the fall or the struggle, about six to eight inches... She was making these horrible noises ...


Esquimalt considers birth control for its deer population March 7, 2019 British Columbia, Peninsula News Review

... Coun. Ken Armour advocates that the Township seek provincial approval to develop a plan and work with the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society (UWSS) to create an immuno-contraception strategy to manage and reduce the deer population in Esquimalt...


Missing dog forms friendship with deer March 7, 2019 Manitoba, Winnipeg CTV News

... Koda returned safely, but Howatt said she kept leaving for a several hours every few days...  The game camera caught the husky sleeping, eating, and playing with the buck during the time she was missing...


Wildlife biologist seeking city support for grant funding March 7, 2019 British Columbia, Cranbrook Townsman

... headed up a translocation study of deer in partnership between Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere and Elkford ... The funding will allow biologists to complete a full scientific report on comparisons between the translocated urban mule deer and non-urban mule deer...

Forest group readies ambitious new standards for sustainable industry March 3, 2019 Canada, Red Deer Express

... the new FSC standards have specific rules and criteria around preserving woodland caribou ... The latest assessment of woodland caribou suggests 81 per cent of Canada’s herds are in decline...


Cranbrook council approves urban deer cull February 26, 2019 British Columbia, Columbia Valley Pioneer

... It will be the seventh cull since action was first taken in 2011 to address the urban deer population in Cranbrook, which have removed 138 deer in total...


Oak Bay report shows deer only a problem for a few, says scientist February 25, 2019 British Columbia, Victoria News

...  95 percent of an Oak Bay deer’s time is spent within a 0.64 square kilometre range. Half of their time is spent in an even smaller 0.14 square kilometre core home range...  it’s an example of the representative heuristic – a phenomena where humans believe there’s a lot of something because they see it often... the small home ranges mean some residents are seeing the same deer frequently, not an abundance of deer...


Volunteers helping deer survive winter in Sudbury area February 22, 2019 Ontario, Sudbury Star

... volunteers together to go out to the deeryards in the area and provide them with feed and freshly cut cedar browse... a homemade icebreaker that would be used to break through the snow crust so the deer wouldn’t cut themselves...


Deer study using collars, cameras under watchful eyes outside of Victoria  February 21, 2019 British Columbia, BC Local News 

... By using a two-pronged GPS and remote camera approach to study a specific population, the UWSS created deer density maps with a high degree of confidence. The traditional method for such research would be aerial surveys, which are not as accurate Fisher said...


Oak Bay one step closer to deer immunocontraceptive test February 20, 2019 British Columbia, BC Local News

...  the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society and the municipality have a licence to immunize 40 deer, but that they are in the process of expanding that licence to 80... the next steps for the study will be to look at density and demographic changes during different seasons ...


Wildlife mortality on roads and railways following highway mitigation

PS Gilhooly, SE Nielsen, J Whittington, CC St. Clair - Ecosphere, 2019 [PDF]

...  Our results support and extend previous work demonstrating that exclusion fencing and wildlife crossing structures reduce wildlife mortalities on the highway at this location, and provide limited evidence, for other ungulates alone, that such mitigation may increase mortality on the adjacent railway...


Chronic Wasting Disease may be slowly creeping into Alberta deer populations February 20, 2019 cbc.ca on MSN.com 

... probably introduced into Canada in Saskatchewan probably sometime in the 1980s ... first detected in Canada on an elk farm in Saskatchewan in 1996... 


The deer are in serious trouble February 14, 2019 Ontario, My Eespanola Now

... The deer are starving and a local game and fish member says deer are dying in droves because of the harsh winter conditions ...  recommends deer be fed a fifty/fifty mix of corn and oats because pure corn is too rich and could kill them...


Chronic Wasting Disease, Fatal brain disease for deer, moose at Ontario's door step, says biologist  February 13, 2019 Ontario, CBC.ca

... Ontario is still clear of the disease ..."Recently a red deer farm located just 15 km across the border with Quebec, tested positive for it, " ...


Injured deer found at Whycocomagh Bay finds new home February 12, 2019 Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Post

...  a yearling on the ice ... a coyote seen out on the ice too ... what looked like a chew mark under this right shoulder... Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Huntington who were willing to take the deer...


Resident angered over B.C. government trapping deer for research February 1, 2019 British Columbia, Cloverdale Reporter