I get what they’re going for here, but wouldn’t spraying them with bright paint make them more visible to the bears and such that prey on them? It seems to me like modifying the roads in high deer areas might be a better, not to mention more efficient, way to go. Who wants to be the guy who has to track, catch and repaint them every year?
Every year, about 4,000 reindeer lose their lives on Finnish roads in car accidents, causing 15 million Euros of damage every year. And now, the Finnish Reindeer Herders Association is testing out a new way to make the large mammals more visible to drivers: reflective paint.
The idea is to spray the antlers of reindeer with reflective paint that reflects motorists’ headlights. “The aim is to prevent traffic accidents. The spray is being tested on fur at the moment, but it may be even more effective on the antlers, because they are seen from every side,” Anne Ollila, chairwoman of the Reindeer Herders Association, told the Finnish news source YLE.