Deer Farming Legal States [Updated March 2023]

States That Allow Deer Farming

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.

States That Require Deer Farming Licenses

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.

States That Prohibit Deer Farming

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.