Legal Status of Exotic Deer Throughout the United States

Abstract

The legal status of exotic deer throughout the United States was determined from a questionnaire mailed to state wildlife, meat inspection, and agricultural marketing agencies during 1989. The response rate varied among state agencies (P<0.01), with the largest number of questionnaires returned by wildlife agencies and the smallest number of questionnaires returned by agricultural marketing agencies. Knowledge of the legal status of exotic deer production was compared among state agencies. In most instances, wildlife agencies responded with“don’t know”less often than agricultural marketing and meat inspection agencies, indicating that wildlife agencies may be the best source of information concerning exotic deer production. Most wildlife agencies (64%) perceive exotic deer as potential competitors with native wildlife (i.e., pests). An important conclusion that can be drawn from this questionnaire concerns the general lack of knowledge among state agencies which either are or could be directly involved in regulating the exotic deer industry.