Would You Shoot This Deer the State Says is Special?

Alabama Tagged Deer
Deer at three locations in Alabama with orange collars like these are part of an ongoing research program and state officials don’t want these orange-collar deer killed.

Hunters usually avoid shooting deer that have tags in an ear or collars around their necks for several reasons, some being that they’re unsure if the deer is protected, a pet, an escapee from a fenced property or perhaps some kind of science project.

The deer really are hanging around biker bars and tattoo parlors for blinged-out collars and pierced ears. They know what they’re doing to keep from getting a broadhead or bullet through the ribcage. Right?

Hardly.

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The deer above is part of an ongoing project in Alabama. Get the scoop from this press release:

The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division (WFF) and the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences are conducting a research project in four locations to determine the adult survival rates and movement patterns of white-tailed deer in Alabama.

For the project, white-tailed deer of various ages have been fitted with brown (VHF) or orange (GPS) radio neck collars.

White-tailed deer fitted with the brown VHF collars may be killed and consumed during the 2014-15 hunting season. The WFF is encouraging hunters to avoid killing deer wearing the orange GPS collars. 

Deer in the following locations have been fitted with the brown or orange collars: the Oakmulgee Wildlife Management Area (WMA); Barbour WMA; Pioneer Deer Management Cooperative, a collective of hunting clubs in Pickens County; and Rembert Hill Road, southwest of Linden, Ala., in Marengo County. It is possible the deer may not stay in the locations in which they were collared.

Hunters are encouraged to return the collars if they kill a deer fitted with the device.

“It is very important for us to retrieve each of the collars after a deer is shot or dies of natural causes,” said Ray Metzler, WFF Wildlife Section Assistant Chief. “The data collected by the device can help shape deer management decisions for future hunting seasons.”

Hunters who kill a deer wearing a brown collar or who accidentally kill an orange-collared deer should contact the following wildlife biologists:

Oakmulgee WMA
Jeff Makemson at 205-371-6375 or Chris Cook at 205-339-5716

Barbour County WMA
Adam Pritchett at 334-529-3222 or Bill Gray at 334-347-1298

Pioneer Cooperative and Rembert Hill Road
Chris Cook at 205-339-5716

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