Albino Deer Hunter Angers residents

I don't think I'd want to shoot it, just a personal thing.
I saw this one a few years ago in Wyoming.

Sorry it's not a great photo, but the antlers were very odd. It didn't have the fear of humans like the rest of the herd (who all moved on as our truck stopped). Plus all of the ranchers in the area seemed to like it. Kind of a novelty I suppose.

Mamertine said:

I don't think I'd want to shoot it, just a personal thing.
I saw this one a few years ago in Wyoming.

Sorry it's not a great photo, but the antlers were very odd. It didn't have the fear of humans like the rest of the herd (who all moved on as our truck stopped). Plus all of the ranchers in the area seemed to like it. Kind of a novelty I suppose.

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I was around one quite a bit a few years ago and suspect the reason he didn't run is because he could not see you well enough to have any idea. I could come up on her from downwind to about 50 yards anytime.

Probably a good thing you didn't shoot, Mamertine... that looks like a very expensive goat.

ZeroJunk said:

I was around one quite a bit a few years ago and suspect the reason he didn't run is because he could not see you well enough to have any idea. I could come up on her from downwind to about 50 yards anytime.

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That would make sense, and I gather that with albinism there are often other genetic issues and eyesight could easily be one of them.

Thanks Blarby

Albinos of all kinds tend to have very poor eyesight. I'm not 100% sure what the reason is, though I believe it has something to do with lack of dark pigment to absorb and retain light within the eyes. I know one albino whose eyesight is so bad that he can't drive even with glasses.

As beautiful as albino deer are, the best thing to do is shoot them. A rare "white stag" is not harmful, but actual albinism is. I doubt I would shoot a non-albino white deer, but I wouldn't think twice about shooting an albino if legal to do so.

Take him! Much better death than at the hands of coyotes, which is where he's headed sooner rather than later.

My thoughts are that it would be an inferior gene in the deer that caused its appearance and would shoot it. I think that protecting the herd as a whole is more important than a few odd ball deer, especially if they have issues with chronic wasting disease. A true albino deer would have a lowered immune system and could be a carrier for many diseases. On the other hand, I would be thrilled to see a nice white buck, it would definitely make an unusual mount for the wall.

The law in Wisconsin protecting Albino deer in the majority of the state is an archaic one. It has been around since the inception of hunting licenses. I assume it was one of those laws based on emotion and wives tales as were many of those laws back then and not on biology and genetics. The Albinos in the studied herds show to be no more suspect to disease and only slightly more suspect to predators as normal brown deer. I think the rarity of them and the thrill and excitement of actually being able to see one in the wild far surpasses any satisfaction of killing one. As for those in the CWD zone, I doubt if they are any more a threat than any other deer. The private land owners in that part of the state allow the access and the amount/types of deer shot on their land regardless of how many free permits the DNR hands out. The deer herd there today numbers very similar to what it was back when the disease was first discovered. The idea of eliminating the whole herd or reducing it to almost nuttin' in that area is ridiculous.

About 15 years ago my buddy had a piebald running around on his land. The thing was running around on the adjacent land too cause the property line ran right through the middle of acres of woods where the deer usually were. The guy who owned the other land didn't want to shoot it as he considered it some kind of neat thing to have around. So my buddy agreed no one on his side would shoot it either if it was on his property. I was hunting his woods and aware that I shouldn't shoot the piebald and one cold morning at first light I had that thing broadside to me at about 20 yards. So of course I let it go by, (it was alone) and two weeks later I hear it got killed by a vehicle on a two lane state road that goes by one side of both properties. Oh well... It was neat seeing it at first light because even in that dim light I spotted it way off in the woods where I normally wouldn't have seen a normal deer.

There's a definite wow-factor in an unusual trophy, too. Unless otherwise agreed, I prefer to shoot game that's somehow unusual. For example, a couple of years ago, on a hunting trip to Africa I spotted a very light colored (not white, not albino) waterbuck, and even though I wasn't after one in the first place, that individual animal changed my plans and we managed to track it down in the course of 2-3 days.

That was worth it. The shoulder mount is the crown jewel of my (small) collection.

I would and in fact have passed on non-standards several times in the past but can't lay my standards of conduct on others nor do I judge their actions in scenarios like this against my own.

Our hunt club was told by the game warden to shoot any piebold or albino regardless of sex. He told us they were genetically inferior and were bad in general for a healthy herd.

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Same here. They're pretty common where I used to hunt. I remember seeing one that looked like an Appaloosa horse years ago. First one I'd ever seen.

Don't they taste the same???

Wasn't there an old Bob Newhart show episode wherein he killed the 'Sacred White Buck' with his car?