Family goes into deer urine business

DONGOLA, Ill., Jan. 1 (UPI) -- An Illinois family says they've found a profitable business raising deer as a source of the retail product they sell in 1-ounce spray bottles -- deer urine.

Kevin Cox and his family started raising deer at their Dongola home, first as pets and then with the thought of profiting from breeding, Lee Newspapers reported Friday.

But it was deer pee, used by hunters as an attractant and lure that turned out to be the key to a new business for the Cox family, the newspaper group said.

Cox said he started collecting urine from his does and selling the filtered product locally. Now he gets calls from hunters as far away as Kansas City, he said.

"This time last year, I never thought I would be collecting deer pee to retail it," said Cox, who once hunted deer himself.

Cox started with three fawns in a pen, and now runs a three-acre operation with 14 deer. He says he plans to start a Web site for online purchases.