On March 14, 2011 ten fallow deer four of them due to have babies in the spring were tragically killed in their paddock. Fallow Deer a semi-domestic animal raised all over the United States much like cattle they depended on me to feed and protect them. I feel as if I failed.
As a small farmer I looked for a niche market commodity that was easy to raise, easy on the environment, and economical. The fallow deer fit these criteria if truly wild, the Fallow is wary of humans, but unlike most other deer species, it easily becomes semi-domesticated Fallow harbor a natural resistance to disease and parasites, including yersiniosis, lung worm, and chronic wasting disease. Efficient converters of forage to meat, fallow deer are grazers consuming an unusually wide range of grasses, legumes, and broad leaf weeds. Deer Farming is a great small business for someone who wants to get into farming they need much less space and attention than traditional livestock, are efficient and don’t require as much food as cattle. A combination browser/grazer means their feeding has moderate impact on forage, there is very little waste management or odor. They are easy to maintain on marginal farmland, thickets, rocky, reclaimed or what would seem "useless" land to some people are ideal for a deer farm.
I built a 150 x 150 foot enclosure and brought in a male and three females to start my herd. Over the years they produced offspring and grew to a herd of ten. I anxiously awaited the birth of four new fawns in the spring of 2011.
March 14th 2011 8am I received a call telling me to return home concerning my Fallows. Did a pack of Coyotes penetrate my secure paddock, I expected the worse. Upon arriving I was greeted by Sergeant J.D. Valasek, Virginia Conservation Police and two of his agents. Sergeant Valasek informed me he had a court order to kill and remove the Fallows on my property and if I did not cooperate he had an arrest warrant for me.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries knew of the Fallows in the fall of 2010 I was told by Sergeant Valasek that I may need a permit he was to check on it and let me know. I never heard anymore until the morning of March 14th and none of my pleading would get him to hold off on killing my Fallows so I could look for another remedy. He made a phone call within minutes approximately 14 agents showed up two of them pulling trailers. This was a thought out procedure designed to instill fear and intimidation.
These Fallows were well fed, in a secure paddock, and showed no signs of disease or sickness, I had previously informed Sergeant Valasek how long they had been secure on my farm and that six of the ten were born here. There was no reason the Fallows had to be killed immediately.
