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Old 10-27-2003, 01:32 AM
  #9  
Grasshopper13
Typical Buck
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 968
Default RE: Pie Bald doe to shoot or not?

Hi guys!

I would shoot her if given the chance. As some of the others stated, they have a possibilty of carrying harmful genetic traits for the local herd. On top of that, it' s just plain wrong to afford an animal a special status because of the color of their pelt. I read an article by Ted Nugent that dealt with this very issue. Old " uncle" Ted, regardless if you agree with everything he says, made a good point about piebalds and albinos. He said that once you start saying it' s wrong to shoot an animal because of it' s color, where do you draw the line? You are affording a " specialness" ,for lack of a better word, because you somehow feel differntly about it because its a " rare" color. This kind of thinking will take you right down the road of the disney films portrayal of animals. A deer whether it' s white, black, big or small, is still just an animal. In fact she is an inferior animal because the offspring she produces are not as likely to survive to adulthood, than that of a normal, healthy doe. If you want to protect a deer that will help the health of your herd, let a few yearling bucks walk. In most cases the buck to doe ratio is out of whack. By letting a young buck walk, you increase the chances that more does will get bred in the next year, and the bucks who work themselves to death trying to breed every single one of them, can get the job done quicker and then turn their attention to regaining strength for the coming winter.

If you normally don' t shoot does, for whatever reason, then you could pass her up, as you would any other doe that came along. If you would normally take a doe, then by all means take her if given the chance. These are just my opinions. You need to do what your comfortable with, not what I or anyone else say you should do. In the end, you' re the one who will be kneeling beside the expired animal, coming to grips with what you' ve just done.

GH
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