I read where albino deer are protected in 12 states and tenneesee passed a law to protect them.
one in 30,000 births are albino.Do you beleive white deer should be protected?They do not have the camoflauge of other deer that is for sure and are more vulnerable to predators.The indians said they were sacred harbingers of good luck...........VOTE Yes protect-No not protect....

Good luck?

I'm Chiricahua Apache and Cherokee, but I still think they make a better mount than a lucky "rabbit's foot". Yummm.... tender white meat!

No, I think they should be taken out of the gene pool. They have a chance to pass on bad genes.

Now as I understand it that a albino is White
with pink eyes , nose ,ect. What about the deer people call Pie Bald , Pinto or Cow deer.Are they albino under the protection laws.

No. By definition, albino is exactly how you described it. However, some states do have protective laws for deer that are "mostly white." Just like some piebalds. If I'm not mistaken, Iowa has that law.

In the south, Piebald deer are more common than you'd think. But plenty are killed. I passed on a doe several years ago that had a neat white pattern. Her underbelly white hair extended up her sides of her belly on both sides in a half moon shape. She also had white around the bottoms of all 4 hooves. One ear was normal, the other was solid white. I thought she was pretty so I let her go. Both of her fawns appeared normal.

Because it is a mutaition of the normal genetic pattern, it should be removed.

Wisconsin as just a law that protects albinos. We can shoot bald pies ect.

I belive she whould be able to shoot albinos also.

quote:

Originally posted by Perforator:
Because it is a mutaition of the normal genetic pattern, it should be removed.

Well, genetically speaking, if the albino itself is removed this is good if the goal is to reduce the population of albinos. However, when they are found in very few numbers, the probablilty that both parents are normal is high. Therefore, the "normal" parents would have to be eliminated from the gene pool too. Close to impossible to do, since it is unknown which normal phenotype deer are carriers of the recessive albino gene.

But as you say, eliminating the white deer itself is a start because if it reaches breeding age, all of its young will be carriers of albinism. And, all THOSE deer have to do is "hook up" with another deer during the rut that is also acarrier, and wall-ah, more albinos possible, while both parents still exhibit normal phenotype.

I would vote no. But I also do not see a problem with the so called recessive albino gene.I would not single them out for "removal" from the gene pool, nor would I protect them. Whitetailed deer first showed up over 3 million years ago, assuming the albino gene was in the gene pool then (although it may be the result of mutation along the way) Whitetails seem to be evolving just fine from a genetic standpoint.
I think there are enough things to worry about with respect to population management at the molecular level (i.e levels of heterozygosity, effects of hybridization)that protecting or singling out for removal is effort beter spent somewhere else.

IV

I vote we should be able to harvest albino deer. I agree with IdahoVandal, we shouldn't single them out and remove them because of their genetics, but since they do everything the same way as a regular deer, they should be able to be hunted like a regular deer. I've never sen an albino deer, but in the event that I do see one, I sure would like to be able to shoot it for the wall. It's going to die eventually, why not let the animal live forever in its beauty on the wall of a hunter's home rather than the form of coyote poop.

Here in Maryland I don't think we have any rules on taking white deer.
I have seen Pie Bald deer in Maryland from the Easern Shore ,Mid Md through to the Mountains
of Western Md.
Also I have seen dark Cholate colored deer in Pa.

Piebald. Of course No.

IdahoVandal, there are a lot of reasons to remove the albino deer.

Albino deer births are estimated in statistical studies to be 1 in 30,000. Albino fawns rarely reach adulthood due to preditors. Besides the fact that they are solid white and cannot conceal themselves in their environment, they also usually have one or more of the following genetic problems: Poor eyesight, poor hearing, and deformities of their feet and legs. This is also the reason that adult albino deer have a life expectancy of only 3 to 4 years. They make an easy target for both hunters and preditors. In order for an albino fawn to be born, both parents must be albino, or if both parents carry the albino gene (they would be normally colored) they have a 1 in 4 chance of producing a fawn that is albino. According to a man I talked to with the Wildlife Department in NC, in his words, "Hunters very, very rarely see an albino deer."

http://www.freewebs.com/savealbinodeer/
http://www.kerrlake.com/deer/albino.html

Redhawk: Thanks for the primer in genetics, although the information presented from the websites you paraphrased is not entirely accurate and oversimplifies the phenomen rather extensively. First, it is a common misconception that "one gene" controls the albino phenotype, it is actually a combination of alleles located on varying portions of DNA. The specific combinations required when the gamete is formed through genetic recombination of the maternal and paternal genes is often environmentally influenced by specific orientations of the blastosphere as it is being formed inside the womb. Typically, these environmental conditions must occur within the first 5 divisions of the gamete or before it reaches 16 cells. It is also likely that most deer carry any number of the required alleles to create an albino yet the phenomenon is quite rare as you stated. This rarity is more than likely attributal due to the low statistical likelihood of all of the allelic combinations and environmental conditions required.(When I say 'environmental' I am referring to conditions inside the womb- temperature, molecules contained within the amniotic fluid etc.) Thus, killing the parents of the albino deer may not have a significant effect upon lowering the continuation of the phenotype amongst future recruits to the population. Second, I am surprised at how often something that occurs in nature that has developed through evolution draws the attention of humans and manifests itself into a human desire to interfere with it. Now, I agree management of animal populations is required to some extent due to the overwhelming evolutionary success of humans. Not to mange would be irresponsible. I do not see the need to manage for albinism, however. In my opinion as a genetics researcher (albeit I am more interested in genetic introgression of white-tailed DNA into Mule deer populations through hybridization along sympatric hybrid zones -albinism is not my deal so to speak)if peer reviewed literature is published showing that anthroprogenic actions are influencing either an increase or decrease in albinism, then I would agree with you, albinism should be managed for. As it stands, I am unaware of any such literature, if you could find some published peer reviewed scientific studies I would be greatly interested. Until then, I see no reason to remove or protect albino deer.

IV

I think removing albino deer from the herd is just good management, especially in light of the likelihood of other genetic disadvantages in many of these deer.

SHOOT EM'!!!!!


They look real Purty on the wall anyway.

Reloader

[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=283360&c=500&z=1"] [/url]

They help draw your eye to the rest of the herd.

The indians were right (maybe). Leave them alone. Being against most laws anyway, I wouldn't pass another law about it though.

I have tried to find out which states do not allow shooting the white deer.I think so far all i have found is michigan and wisconson and tenneesse?anyone else know any of the other states that have laws?This has been a learning experiance for me.I read about this in a old outdoor life magazine the other day.Interesting.

Pass a new law everywhere that prohibits shooting fawns.

Any mature deer, regardless of color, is fair game. That's my vote.

FYI - NY has no laws on albino/piebalds.

1894,

What kind of game animals are in the picture? sex?

Reloader

They are fallow prickets ie young bucks

One is white and one is a common. White fallow are a recognised type of fallow just less common.

Looks like Mighty Fine eatin'.

Reloader

I too see no real reason to manage them differently from the rest of the deer herd...unless there is some inherit GOOD reason for one to do so, there is NO reason to pass a law about something. Sorry, "it's pretty" isn't good enough in my book. All deer are "pretty" and if that is enough reason to pass yet another law, well I'll just have to disagree...

NO!

Kill'em all, let god sort'em out!!

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawk1:
IdahoVandal, there are a lot of reasons to remove the albino deer.

Albino deer births are estimated in statistical studies to be 1 in 30,000. Albino fawns rarely reach adulthood due to preditors. Besides the fact that they are solid white and cannot conceal themselves in their environment, they also usually have one or more of the following genetic problems: Poor eyesight, poor hearing, and deformities of their feet and legs. This is also the reason that adult albino deer have a life expectancy of only 3 to 4 years. They make an easy target for both hunters and preditors. In order for an albino fawn to be born, both parents must be albino, or if both parents carry the albino gene (they would be normally colored) they have a 1 in 4 chance of producing a fawn that is albino. According to a man I talked to with the Wildlife Department in NC, in his words, "Hunters very, very rarely see an albino deer."

http://www.freewebs.com/savealbinodeer/
http://www.kerrlake.com/deer/albino.html

I hear ya. Smoke 'em.

I once asked one of the Deer biologists at a QDMA seminar about this very thing, having seen a Pibald doe on the farm, they think "shoot them".

Why shoot them? Are you guys that hard up to kill something that you cannot let one walk???

Did you ever stop to think that there are a lot of people that don't hunt that enjoy nature too? Perhaps they would enjoy seeing one.

There is absolutely no negative effects on the herd as a whole due to a deer being white. And you might suggest a white deer stands out to predators, but that is only half the year in snowy areas. Obviously the only predator that matters is man, or you wouldn't see him standing on the other end of your barrel they would have been caught and eaten before. They are rare enough that shooting them really is pointless. It is not like you are culling a bunch of genetically inferior born 3 legged deer that are inpacting a herd, or a deer without ears etc. And if an alibino deer is that vulnerable to predators, than certainly they would get killed off without the help of man and that has not happened yet.

quote:

Did you ever stop to think that there are a lot of people that don't hunt that enjoy nature too?

Yup, and I'm willing to hear their concerns about albino deer as soon as they begin forking out the kind of money that we do to support game animals.

quote:

They are rare enough that shooting them really is pointless

Does this mean that you'd also pass on a 180+ class buck because they are also "rare"?

As I said before, the only thing that should really be off-limits is shooting fawns - with few exceptions there is no excuse for shooting one.

Right on erict!!

I vote they not be protected. A deer is a deer is a deer.