
Can You Hunt Albino Deer in Iowa?
I was recently visiting some friends of mine in Wisconsin and when I arrived at their house, I saw something I had never seen in person before.
These friends recently built a house and their property is literally "out in the sticks." They aren't exactly in the middle of nowhere but they're pretty close. They're in a very secluded area and in the fall they often rent out part of their land/property to to deer hunters.
This couple has seen plenty of deer walk through their backyard, they've seen turkeys, a bobcat, and recently they found a black bear strolling through their backyard. They live around all kinds of wildlife and they never know what they're going to see on a day-to-day basis.
They also have an albino deer that stays around their area. I saw this little guy/girl the day we showed up to visit. When we saw this deer I immediately thought "I hope it makes it through hunting season" and then I was curious if it was even legal to shoot albino deer. Are Wisconsin and Iowa laws different?

In the fall this deer sticks out like a sore thumb but I bet when it snows it can hide itself pretty well. This was my first time seeing an albino deer in person and my friends have this visitor almost every day!
Is It Legal
While hunting season in Iowa isn't until the fall and early parts of winter, it's good to prepare ahead of time if you hunt and ever come across a white deer. The quick answer is, don't shoot it.
According to the Des Moines Register, hunting white deer in Iowa is considered illegal. It's not only all white deer either. "Any deer with more than 50% white coloring cannot be legally hunted."
Albino deer have been protected in Iowa since 1987. There was a big uproar when an albino deer was shot and they have since been protected.
Albino vs Piebald Deer
The photo above is considered an Albino deer, meaning they are all white and normally have red or pink eyes. Piebald deer normally have more of a mix of brown and white coats. They also can have colored facial features. A deer like this one in the picture below would also protected from being hunted in Iowa because there is 50% more white than brown.
This deer has the normal dark eyes you'd see in brown deer which would make this a Piebald deer as opposed to albino.
If you ever come across a deer during hunting season showing a lot of white coloring, it's probably better to be safe than sorry and leave them alone. I'd imagine it can be pretty hard to tell what is exactly 50% white and brown coloring and it wouldn't be worth the risk to hunt one. You can technically hunt Piebald deer but you better be sure it has more than 50% brown coloring.
According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, if you shoot an albino deer or a deer with more than 50% white coloring the hunter is "guilty of a simple misdemeanor with a penalty determined by a judge, plus a civil court fine of $1,500 for a doe and a higher fine for a buck."
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