Why aren’t Deer domesticated the way cows, sheep and pigs are?
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There are roughly 6 things that species needs to be domesticable: a diverse appetite, rapid maturation, willingness to breed in captivity, docility, strong nerves, and a nature that conforms to social hierarchy.
Deer have a diverse appetite and rapid maturation. Many deer also live in social hierarchies that humans can supplant, as we have done with sheep, cows, and horses. Some places have even had success with getting deer to breed in captivity, but it’s more challenging than you think. It’s really the last two that most species of deer fall down on. They are prone to flights of nerves and acts of reactive aggression. Some deer can have such a bad reaction to being captured that they literally die of fright.
Another concern for modern humans rather than our ancestors is that cervids like deer are a major source of pathogens that can jump into humans, principally via ticks. It gets worse. Deer have their own prion disease that we just call Chronic Wasting Disease. If that ever spread to humans like mad cow disease did back in the 90s… it could be seriously bad.
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