Will feeding Illinois deer help them, or hasten their demise?
The white-tailed deer is so beloved in Illinois that schoolchildren voted to make it the official state animal in 1980. So proposals to mess with the health and habits of the forest-dwelling does and bucks tend to generate ferocious debate.
Such is the case with a bill that would launch a trial program to see what might happen to the state's wild herd if Illinois lifts a 15-year-old rule that makes it illegal to feed deer. In a five-year experiment, feeding deer would be legal in some parts of the state in a study gauging the health effects of doing so.
Supporters, including the makers and distributors of deer feed, say the test will show whether the wild animals could better fight off some illnesses if they are given a nutritional feed infused with supplements like proteins, vitamins and minerals.
A leading proponent is Dr. Clifford Shipley, a newly retired professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine who raises deer and has consulted on deer feed formula. He hopes the study would show feed with nutritional supplements helps deer thrive.
