I'm considering shooting only very young deer.
 

Why would I begin to think along these lines.? Well I really like deer meat. It is naturally lean and helps supplement the family food supply. I hunt mostly for meat but if I have a buck tag I try to use it on a nice buck. Well this year 2 of the deer I shot so far were about 2 1/2 years old. Not very old by most standards, but I noticed when I field dressed them that their livers were in very bad shape. One looked cancerous and both were very white looking. They definiely weren't healthy livers, especially for so young a deer. here's my theory. The deer here subsist on primarily ag crops. Corn, sunflowers, winter wheat etc. I believe that modern Agricultural practices are messing up the deer. Everyone around here sprays, sprays and sprays some more. One chemical after another,. First, herbicide, than chemical fertilizer, then pesticides etc etc. I believe this is taking a toll on the wildlife and since the liver processes everything it is being affected. That makes me wonder how good the deer meat really is . If I am right and the chemicals are responsible then I think it would be wise to shoot the youngest deer possible. yearlings or those born this year. They would have been impacted the least by the chemicals. Just my thoughts . I like deer meat and sure don't want to give it up. As a family of 10 we eat about 6 or 7 deer a year. Anybody else that lives in Ag areas ever notice a difference?

Might want to consult with your local department of natural resources concerning the "bad" looking livers, there might be something else going on with the deer herd. Hopefully not.

Chet

Shoot! I wish I had never read your post... but I think it really bares thinking about -

I wonder about taking some of that meat and have it analyized - some University might really think that would be a good project... maybe even the state might buy into that.

I have killed deer that have been 5 years old, and livers and organs looks extremly healthy. In fact these bucks are the studs of the forest, and everything in them looked very bright colors and healthy.

That sounds strange that these 2.5 year olds had strange looking livers. Might have rutted for a while and lacked food. Its not uncommon for a deer to lose up to 20% of its wieght during rut.

This is another reason I feel quite blessed to only be able to hunt mountain bucks. No crops around where I hunt. Accorns are about all they eat.

I've never seen livers like you describe in my life. If you see another one, I'd have it sent off for testing.

Regardless, yearling does are some mighty fine eatin'!

I think you're messing your own head sir.Try to stop playing doctor.I never examine the gut piles.I just cut,dump,and drag.The deer is dead and I don't really care which organ or organs I destroyed to make that happen.I feel if there were any issues with the deer population there would be warnings issued by the local DNR.

I agree and I love to eat the young deer also. Was the liver on that monster buck you shot very messed up? I have not eaten liver off of anything in quite a while cuz I think that's where the toxins are concentrated.
I wonder if it could be the experiments the government has been conducting in your area? :alien: :alien: :alien: :patriot:

That's a thought provoking post Chet. Not a problem for me because there's no agriculture in our area other than pine trees and cow pastures. But it would not surprise me at all if ag chemicals are getting into the wildlife food chain in a serious way.

Sabotloader's thought regarding a university study is excellent. I'd bet there's some grad student out there just looking for a great topic for a doctorial thesis.

Because our club has a two doe limit I tend to shoot the biggest does I can to maximize meat harvest. If I had the option of shooting more than two I would concentrate on those 80 to 90 pound gals that were born the previous year. Smaller roasts, but sooo good.

Very provocative thought. Though I've never thought of this before, I have no doubt it is possible/probable. You should be able to have the tissue analyzed somehow.
Have you ever seen the movie Food Inc? You might find it interesting.

It seems to me, the mother would pass on the chemicals to the fetus through the umbilical cord. If so, shooting a fawn, or yearling wouldn't be an advantage. It wouldn't hurt to get the liver looked at by a scientist, and see what transpires. Gee, that would be so sad if one couldn't eat deer.