Aversion of red deer and roe deer to denatonium benzoate in the diet

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to determine the concentration of denatonium benzoate at which feed becomes unpalatable to captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus] to identify the concentrations likely to be required to prevent trees being browsed by deer. When offered in a mixture of barley and straw as a single feed, red deer showed no reduction in feed intake with denatonium benzoate concentrations up to 1000 p.p.m. When offered a choice of two feeds, one containing denatonium benzoate, both red and roe deer showed a preference for the denatonium benzoate-free feed. The results indicate that deer avoid feed containing denatonium benzoate and thus the chemical could potentially prevent the browsing of trees by deer.