State | Deer Farming Legality↓ | Additional Deer Farming Details | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Alaska | License required | Elk farms are legal with license, after an inspection of the elk farming facilities to make sure they are well-maintained and meet the required fencing standards. |
![]() | Arkansas | License required | |
![]() | California | License required | Only fallow deer (Dama dama) may be possessed for deer farming purposes. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and be residents of California. |
![]() | Colorado | License required | Considered wildlife or alternative livestock and require a permit or license issued by United States Department of Agriculture, Colorado Department of Agriculture, or Colorado Parks and Wildlife. |
![]() | Georgia | License required | Restricted to fallow, sika, and red deer, elk, caribou and their hybrids. |
![]() | Hawaii | License required | Whitetail/White-tailed deer not allowed. |
![]() | Indiana | License required | |
![]() | Kentucky | License required | |
![]() | Louisiana | License required | |
![]() | Maine | License required | |
![]() | Michigan | License required | |
![]() | Mississippi | License required | |
![]() | New Jersey | License required | |
![]() | New York | License required | This license authorizes individuals to breed captive white-tailed deer and operate a commercial or private deer hunting preserve. |
![]() | North Carolina | License required | |
![]() | North Dakota | License required | |
![]() | Ohio | License required | Restricted to white-tailed deers. |
![]() | Oklahoma | License required | |
![]() | Oregon | License required | |
![]() | Pennsylvania | License required | |
![]() | South Carolina | License required | |
![]() | South Dakota | License required | |
![]() | Texas | License required | Restricted to white-tailed and mule deers. |
![]() | Utah | License required | Restricted to elks. |
![]() | West Virginia | License required | |
![]() | Connecticut | Legal | |
![]() | Florida | Legal | |
![]() | Idaho | Legal | Restricted to reindeer, elk and fallow deer. |
![]() | Illinois | Legal | |
![]() | Iowa | Legal | |
![]() | Kansas | Legal | |
![]() | Massachusetts | Legal | Restricted to fallow, sika, and red deer. |
![]() | Minnesota | Legal | |
![]() | Missouri | Legal | |
![]() | New Mexico | Legal | Restricted to mule deers. |
![]() | Wisconsin | Legal | |
![]() | Alabama | Illegal | Alabama law prohibits keeping wild animals as pets. |
![]() | Arizona | Illegal | |
![]() | Delaware | Illegal | |
![]() | Maryland | Illegal | |
![]() | Montana | Illegal | No new deer farms are allowed in Montana. Only those that were in business at the time of the 2000 initiative which stopped all new game. |
![]() | Nebraska | Illegal | |
![]() | Nevada | Illegal | |
![]() | New Hampshire | Illegal | |
![]() | Rhode Island | Illegal | |
![]() | Tennessee | Illegal | |
![]() | Vermont | Illegal | |
![]() | Virginia | Illegal | Legal only for for wildlife exhibitors and zoos permitted by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. |
![]() | Washington | Illegal | |
![]() | Wyoming | Illegal |
While farms with cows, sheep, and pigs are more common, there are farms for other animals as well. Deer farms are less common but they are allowed in some states in the country.
Deer farms are legal in eighteen states with no permit required. These states are Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. It is also legal in Massachusetts, though as a limited venture.
While deer farms are legal in Kentucky, the white-tailed deer is normally a bane to farms because it eats plants and damages property. This means that deer would normally be kept on specialized farms.
There are many about 250 deer farms in Missouri, as deer farming popularity continues to grow within the state.
Another group of states allows deer farming as long as the proper permit has been obtained. In California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, a license is required to own and operate a deer farm. Each of these states has its own rules for licensing.
California allows only fallow deer to be kept on farms. Oregon also limits ownership to fallow deer and reindeer.
Colorado identifies deer as wildlife, so they require a license to own, just like any other wild animal.
It is illegal to keep deer as pets or farm animals in Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.
Montana allows deer farms that were already in operation to continue, but will not allow any new deer farms. Virginia and Alabama both prohibit keeping deer as pets.