ARNOLD, MO (KMOX)--An all-white buck was captured on video roaming around Arnold in Jefferson County.
This isn't the first time. In 2021, three albino deer were spotted at once in Arnold Park.
As far as harvesting an albino deer during the firearms season in Missouri, hunters are faced with an ethical question of whether to use their tag on one.
"They are around. Every year we'll get reports of them," said John Winkelman Outdoor Writer for more than 30 years in Jefferson County. "Every year there will be people who harvest them and you'll have the people who say, 'You're cursed! How could you do that?' Or people will say, 'What a great trophy!'"
In some circles, there's a superstition among hunters that you get bad luck for harvesting an albino deer. Winkelman says the idea of a curse could be a throwback to some native american tribes who revered the great white buffalo.
"I'm positive that once you clean him, skin him, and take him to the butcher shop," Winkelman said, "he's gonna be just as good as if he'd have been brown or gray or red or whatever color you call them these days."
Why are albino deer in Arnold? Winkelman says they can thrive in places where the population is super dense. He says inbreeding occurs allowing the genetic mutation that causes albinism.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoor news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.