Why You Should Never Keep a Deer as a Pet in Louisiana

Of late I've noticed quite a few videos recorded by Louisiana hunters' game cameras that showed cute fawns with their mothers as they visited deer feeders in the area.

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I've also noticed essentially the same repertoire of questions/comments each time these videos popped up.

Common Questions Louisiana People Have When Seeing Videos With Baby Deer

To help those who truly never had their questions answered, I've got some relevant information.

• Do deer always have twins?  No, not always, but an article from the National Deer Association highlights that most healthy, adult does will give birth to twins. In some unusual cases, they could give birth to triplets or quadruplets, but that's extremely rare. Single births are more common among younger does in their first-ever pregnancy.
• How old are fawns when their mother begins to wean them? Recordbreakingranch.com answered this very question stating that fawns begin to eat solid food at about 3 to 4 weeks old but continue to nurse. By 8 to 10 weeks, fawns are weaned and start to rely more on solid food.
• Do deer make good pets?  This is a question I see regularly as people pose situations where the mother might have been killed or is completely absent.  The answer for this one is emphatically, NO.

Why Don't Deer Make Good Pets?  They Seem So Gentle

In an article from a-z-animals.com, we learn that, "While deer can be tamed, it is important to remember that taming differs from domestication. Although neighborhood deer may become accustomed to people, or even accept food from people’s hands, this is different than living in enforced captivity, which can be incredibly stressful. Deer can die of stress in captivity."

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In fact, in the State of Louisiana, unless a person possesses a legal permit to do so, it's against the law to keep a deer as a pet.

This video from the National Deer Association was recently posted to the LDWF Facebook page and it perfectly explains why it's never a good idea to have a deer as a pet.