Regarding why deer are farmed in the US: in some places, deer are farmed for consumption, but will typically be non-native deer, considering most states forbid the sale of meat from native species, and thus other cervids than the WTD. (This goes back a bit to controlling depopulation triggered by hunting for the market.)
Most farming of deer in the continental US is actually for white tail deer, and specifically to develop and grow mutant genetic stocks that "score" very well based on antler size/complexity. A reindeer, for example, might bring a few hundred dollars in-market for meet, but someone will pay $20K+ for a Boone & Crockett scoring white tail to hang on their wall as a trophy. So, they farm the deer to sell examples with highly-prized genetics to ranches, who then charge people to shoot them.
This is, needless to say, exceptionally controversial in the hunting community, and many of these deer are not even allowed for ranking by the major groups like B&C.
Regarding why deer are farmed in the US: in some places, deer are farmed for consumption, but will typically be non-native deer, considering most states forbid the sale of meat from native species, and thus other cervids than the WTD. (This goes back a bit to controlling depopulation triggered by hunting for the market.)
Most farming of deer in the continental US is actually for white tail deer, and specifically to develop and grow mutant genetic stocks that "score" very well based on antler size/complexity. A reindeer, for example, might bring a few hundred dollars in-market for meet, but someone will pay $20K+ for a Boone & Crockett scoring white tail to hang on their wall as a trophy. So, they farm the deer to sell examples with highly-prized genetics to ranches, who then charge people to shoot them.
This is, needless to say, exceptionally controversial in the hunting community, and many of these deer are not even allowed for ranking by the major groups like B&C.