Alberta's deer farm rules could help New Brunswick

The New Brunswick government may want to look to Alberta as it studies the risks and benefits of domestic deer farms.

White-tailed deer farms are illegal in New Brunswick and the Department of Natural Resources had planned to shut them down by June 15.

But in a surprise decision earlier this month, Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup announced that deadline has been put on hold until the provincial government can conduct further research about concerns, such as disease spreading to wild herds.

In Alberta, farms for deer, elk and reindeer have been legal for years, said Vaughn Christensen, an official with the Department of Agriculture.

Provincial legislation helps ensure that domestic deer don't mix with those in the wild, he said.

"Our fencing requirement is to ensure that domestic cervids stay on the farm. And also to ensure that the wild population of deer don't enter onto a farm," he said.

Alberta also has legislation to ensure that problems such as Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, are controlled, said Christensen.

"Any domestic cervid over one year of age that dies on a farm or is slaughtered, must have its head submitted [to the provincial government] for CWD testing."

Under the New Brunswick Fish and Wildlife Act, white-tailed deer cannot be kept in captivity, regardless whether they were bred or raised in captivity.

But the provincial government discovered 15 illegal operations with a total of more than 140 deer during an internal investigation last fall.

The investigation was launched after Donald Dubé, 55, of Saint-Léonard, was attacked and killed by a buck in his backyard pen in October, 2011.

Biologists warn that captive white-tailed deer pose a risk to native wildlife populations, human health and public safety.

The New Brunswick Wildlife Federation is against the domestication of deer and the maintenance of personal deer herds. Ron Whitehead, a wildlife specialist with the federation, has said the organization is concerned that the operations will harm the province’s deer population.