Albino Deer Appear Near Billings, FWP Says They Are OK to Hunt

It may sound like something out of the Chronicles of Narnia, but folks are seeing white stags near the town of Roundup, north of Billings. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks spokesman Bob Gibson says he has seen a number of pictures of the animals which are thought to be very rare.

"For something that doesn't happen all that often in nature, a couple of them in the county is noticeable," Gibson said. "I've heard everything from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 100,000 you get an Albino deer; those numbers wouldn't surprise me at all."

Though rare, albino deer don’t have any special protection in Montana. In fact, Gibson says they are most likely genetically inferior and it is perfectly legal to go on a white stag hunt.

"Albino deer are treated no differently than any other white tail deer in Montana," Gibson said. "It's not illegal under the current regulations to hunt them, not illegal to harvest them. Some people like them, like to see them around. There's no regulation that says you find one in a place that is legal ethical and legal to hunt them that you can't hunt them and harvest them."

Until 2013, there was a law on the books that prevented the shooting of albino deer in a particular basin in Golden Valley County. Gibson said the property with the special protections also happened to be owned by a Montana State Legislator.