Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Captive deer herds?

I just saw a map of CWD, and it noted quite a few captive deer herds in Saskatchewan.

Just curious, what are those folks doing with those deer?

Farm them like Elk.


SS

You funny!

Then what do they do with elk?

Most are sold for meat at things like farmers markets. For elk, they cut the antlers off while still in velvet and sell them to health food producers. Usually asian markets. I believe it is supposed to be good for the heart.

Deer are farmed mostly for meat, as well as breeding stock for other farmers.

There is no hunting of either farmed deer or elk. You can often go buy a live elk for about $300 and butcher it yourself. Sometimes I wonder if it would be cheaper than going hunting!


SS

Merci.

At Farmers' Markets? Who'd be the customer?
I'd have thought more along the lines of suppliers to wild game restaurants.

I'll assume, then, also a bit of leather for vests and gloves, perhaps pee for scents, seed for AI, etc.



$300 for an elk sounds pretty dang cheap!



That makes me wonder - does anyone raise antlers for mounting and selling?

Elk were originally farmed for the velvet off their antlers. With the advent of viagra, the market crashed. That's why you can buy a whole elk for $300. The game farm operators swore they had no interest in game farm hunts....but since their other market has dried up, they are seriously lobbying for it.

Sam, I must inform you that unfortunately deer & elk are shot on "hunt farms" in Saskatchewan. I believe deer farms introduced CWD to wild deer Sask, and the Gov't is keeping it quiet, because they invested so much in promoting deer farms. Lazy shooters are killing deer behind fences and are encouraged to call it hunting! it just makes me sick. The SK public just doesn't want to stand up to the government on this one, but outside protesters might. We need help from other Canadian hunters to shut fenced hunting down. Shooting Bambi in a fence could be the beginning of the end of real hunting for all who don't have treaty indian hunting rights.

I believe that Sask is the only province to allow fenced hunts. Agreed on the introduction of CWD. Just like TB in the buffalo herds of Wood Buffalo...


SS

Ontario banned all hunting behind fences as of spring 2005 which really peeved the operators of wild boars farms here.

I've heard of the $300.- on the hoof price in Manitoba.

B.

I personally believe that Game ranching will destroy hunting as we know it in Alberta.
Maybe not tomorrow, but by the time my kid's children are ready to hunt, most of the big game stuff will be behind fences, and a lot of the crown land in the province will be alotted to Oufitters.
I really hate game farming.....
Cat

Cat, can the public hunt crown land while it is alloted? Is it just exclusive from other outfitters?

AFAIK, any crown land (except parks) is free for public hunting and access during regular hunting seasons. Also open to outfitters.


SS

I dunno Cat, seems around here most of them are going out of business. Dosen't seem to be a growth industry anybody wants to invest in these days. They are loosing money since the specialty meat market hasn't panned out and the oriental velvet/antler aphrodesiac market has had the bottom drop out of it since the advent of viagra. I'm hoping they all die out.

Amen to that.

The outfitters can access crown land , as well as the public, yes.
however, that may change in the years to come.

As far as the Game ranching thing goes, it will only be a maqtter of time also before that gets even more messed up than it is!
I don't want to sound all " doom and gloom" but the Alberta Fish and Game Association warned against this years ago, and although it has come to pass exactly how we told the Gov'nt it would, our words are falling on deaf ears.
Paid hunting is only a matter of time, then the B&C books will really have a boondoggle with "fair chase".
Cat