Emergency feeding of white-tailed deer during rigorous winters:: Twig cutting of noncommercial species versus distribution of supplemental feeding stations

In northeastern regions of North America, deer sometimes face hard winters, which may kill more than 40 percent of the population. Management of their winter habitat is not enough to avoid extensive losses from starvation. Emergency feeding programs have therefore been developed to reduce population fluctuations, which make it difficult to manage the species. During the winters of 1996 and 1997, we simulated two emergency feeding programs for deer in two deer yards located in B as Saint-Laurent, Quebec. One of the programs was linked to the cutting of stems of non-commercial species, and the other to the distribution of a specially adapted animal feed. In accordance to the regional intervention strategy, we supplied additional feed to satisfy about 50 percent of the deers' feed requirements. In this study, we have compared the costs of the two programs during four and eight week periods. In comparison to stem cuttings, feed distribution reduces by two to three times the expenses related to the program, while facilitating spatial distribution of the food. In conditions encountered in northeastern North America, feed distribution is definitely the most economically effective method of establishing an emergency feeding program for deer.