Joe Heldmann of Catonsville writes: I live where there is a large population of deer like many other areas. I also have five acres about 5 miles downstream from Paw Paw, W. Va. My question to you: Are there any programs to relocate deer? I actually feed them field corn because I have a small piece of woods behind my house and at times they roam around my yard. I enjoy watching them throughout the year. In my area of West Virginia there are not very many left and I rarely see one on my way back and forth. It seems if we could capture some of them we could send them to a place that is safer and rebuild the population. Also, I'm sure the hunters would appreciate them being around.

Brian Eyler, deer project leader for the Department of Natural Resources replies: Trapping and moving deer is a proposition that DNR hears quite often. Unfortunately, while it seems to be a good idea, there are numerous drawbacks to doing such. First and foremost, in reality there are few places today that truly have a need for more deer. While it may seem that your land in Paw Paw could use some more deer, my guess is the deer population there is actually pretty close to or exceeding what it really should be for a healthy forest and habitat.

Deer also do not handle restraint well, and often times just the stress from capture and being introduced into a strange area will result in death of the animal. So while there are good intentions in moving the animals, in the end you probably will end up killing a high percentage of them.

Finally, deer are potential carriers of diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Moving live deer increases the chances of introducing diseases or parasites into areas that otherwise would not be exposed to them. Thanks again for your question, and feel free to contact your local DNR office if you have further questions.

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