Poisonous Yews

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Pistil Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a) Dec 24, 2013

I saw this in the newspaper. So sad. Do you think it is true? Is this common?

http://www.dailyastorian.com/free/note-to-elk-don-t-eat-english-yew/article_c512c05c-68d1-11e3-b0bd-0019bb2963f4.html

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Mipii (Robin) Blissfield, MI(Zone 6a) Dec 24, 2013

Yes it's true, Yew is also poisonous to livestock and Horses, apparently a pretty well known fact in equine circles. I just found out this year too.
http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/yew.html

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Dec 24, 2013

Very strange, I'm very dubious about its veracity. Deer are usually immune to yew toxins, and eat it freely - so much so, that churchyards (which were typically fenced) were the only places where yew could be grown easily. In the wild, yew usually only grows on steep slopes and crags, as they're the only places it can escape deer browsing.

Different matter for horses, they are much more susceptible to the toxins. Cattle are intermediate.

Resin

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Muddy1 Vienna, VA(Zone 7a) Dec 24, 2013

I found this site, which says yews aren't particularly toxic to elk.
Deer reportedly are a big fan of yews around here, but none seem to die from eating them.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/07-055.htm

It might well be dependent on how much the elk or deer eat. Deer in our neighborhood nibble on the tips of yew needles, then move on to the Aucuba or other tastier fare. If a starving elk were to eat large amounts of yew branches, it could be quite a different matter.

If yews could be relied upon to poison deer, I have a feeling they (yews, that is) would be flying out of garden centers around here.

This message was edited Dec 24, 2013 6:28 PM

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Dec 24, 2013

And since there is a Yew native to the Pacific Northwest United States (Taxus brevifolia, Pacific Yew: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58124/) then it would not be out of the question that the genus has been experienced in the wild by wild hoofed browsers.

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