Mule deer are not pets

Each year sees more and more mule deer wandering around Sisters. And each year sees more and more residents making virtual pets out them.

This has created problems, with does aggressively defending their fawns from a perceived threat even by leashed dogs. Such encounters do not end well for the dog.

Wildlife professionals say that if you see a mule deer with a fawn, do not go near them. Leave them alone; the doe knows what she's doing, even when she leaves her fawn on your front lawn.

"Abandoned" fawns are almost always not actually abandoned.

Feeding deer has become blatant, to the point that The Nugget has received reports of people hand-feeding and petting mule deer fawns.

What kind of a chance does a hand-fed, pet mule deer have when it happens to wander away from town, smelling like a human - or wander off during hunting season?

In addition, there are several diseases infecting mule deer that are man-borne. Keeping a herd of pet mule deer in a backyard can provide an opportunity for these diseases to spread among the town deer and then infect the wild populations.

Simon Wray, ODFW wildlife biologist working the Central Region, deals with "pet" mule deer as part of his job. He's as upset with deer-feeders as are most wildlife biologists, but the state has not taken action.

"Every year, ODFW spends an inordinate amount of time getting the word out about feeding wildlife," Wray said. "With the exception of feeding wild birds, the agency does not support feeding wildlife. You know all the biological reasons why feeding wildlife is a bad idea, so I won't go into those here. And you also know that the issue is one of intense social debate. However, at this time there is no state statute that prohibits feeding wildlife. Control can be exercised by city or county ordinance, but few chose to intact them. To my knowledge, Sisters does not have an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of deer or other wildlife."