deer ripping my haylage wrap
 

Deer are ripping holes in my wrapped bales to get at the hay. Can I legally shoot them in NY?

Don't think so, not unless it's hunting season.

I think u might be able to get a nuscance permit.

Maverickxxx is correct contact the DEC for a nuisance deer permit.

First off make sure it's deer. Turkeys do an awful lot of damage to the bags around here. After that, you need to contact your local DEC Office and check into your options. If you have a verifiable problem they may issue a permit. But they won't let you shoot them all. You might look into other options involving dogs, electric fence, scents, flashers, etc.


Just FYI, it's never a good idea to ask for legal information on a general internet forum and go do something possibly illegal based on the information you may get. Always best to check with the responsible agency in the particular area you reside in.

How tall is your fencing? I have had to go over 6' in heavy snow years.

Well you better go with Electric Wire Around the hay bales that is what is done around here. I am looking out my window at my landlords wrapped hay and they have a electric fence set up around it to keep the deer out. You sure can't shoot them out of season no matter how much they are eating. That is really asking for trouble, more then you would ever want to see.
Use solar or battery powered fencers.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7199.html

Deer Damage Permits, about halfway down. No idea how hard or easy they are to get. Would also have to buck the trend to be able to take antlered deer, which is usually what do the damage to wrapped bales.

Yeah, isn't Bambi cute?

I suggest some electric fence around those bales.

DEC is usually helpful about things like this but you do need to show definite problems. I would think your damage is only being caused by a small number of deer so it seems like they would OK you getting rid of them. They would probably come to your place and interview you and see the damage for themselves. I've only gotten the DMAPs, myself,though.

would like to see that
 

would you set up a deer cam,,i would like to see that......

It depends on the laws in each state.
It's fairly easy here to get a depredation permit

Bearfoot's right on this--it really does depend on your state. In Virginia, we're allowed to take them down out of season if they're doing "significant damage." We need to contact our game warden to find out what constitutes "significant damage," though.

OP, get to know your local game and wildlife officials--they can be really helpful, and usually will want to help you figure out solutions rather than just keep you from doing anything to the animals.

I will not suggest that you do anything illegal.

But ... if the property is large enough, and nobody can see what you're doing, then perhaps a variation of the old S.S.S (with a freezer instead of a shovel) might be in order?

I joke, of course, but I'm actually thinking about a similar issue myself--no hay-eaters, but we've deer tracks all over the only decent chunk we have for a garden patch, and we can't afford the fence. We'll see, come spring, how big a problem materializes.

For less than $100 you can run some electric fencing.
A Game Law violation will be MUCH more expensive

The THIRD S is the most important

Like Bearfoot said, if you can't afford the fence, how can you possibly afford the fines or possible jail time, confiscation of your guns, etc? Do as you will, but just understand the chance you take.

It's honestly a joke ... in school, I actually wrote a dissertation about outlaws and poachers in early English literature, so I can't resist the poaching joke. As I said, I would not recommend anything illegal, but the thought does occur nonetheless ... it remains only a thought here, in part because we have several neighbors within eyeshot of the patch in question, one of whom is a sheriff's deputy, and another who is a retired busybody who holds himself personally responsible for enforcing order and propriety in our neighborhood.

Tone and the like don't transfer well into forums--my apologies.

Never mind all the back and forth about legalities and illegalities re shooting deer. As a practical matter, you won't have time to guard things often enough to deter deer. Most importantly, the rats with antlers do most of their damage at night when you are asleep. I've been through all this and the best deterrent I've found is an electric fence.

I think the op is in E NC, I'm in W SC and the situation is the same. Hey, I have a thought, live trap a coyote and cage him near what you want to keep the deer away from. Just joking, probably the deer would soon realize the coyote can't get at them and ignore him.

KEH

Spent the night with your haylage and claim it was self defense! For heaven's sake, everyone lighten up a bit. :)

Yes that is the easiest, cheapest, and pretty much the best way to protect hay from the deer and others as far as that goes. Running a wire or two around a few posts even if those posts are just the inexpensive fiberglass push in ones. And if you can't go for the Solar Fencer because of the cost the battery ones are not that bad at all.

You could try Irish Spring soap. The deer were eating my garden down as fast as it grew in 2011.
I was given the hint for the soap in 2012, tried it and they left my garden alone.
I drilled a hole in the soap and hung it in a young pear tree at the end of the garden.

My Catahoula can be 2 feet away from deer, barking like mad but on the other side of a fence, and the deer just lay there looking at him like he's crazy.