Fewer deer shot in hunts
March 18th, 2006 by Administrator
Fewer deer shot in hunts – Hunters in Pennsylvania bagged an estimated 354,000 deer during the most recent season, a drop of 13 percent from the previous year.
The Game Commission said fewer antlerless deer were killed after the commission reduced the number of antlerless licenses in response to falling deer populations in many areas.
Hunting license sales are down 5 percent this year, and officials said bad weather during the first days of the rifle deer season also contributed to the smaller harvest.
Many hunters are also disillusioned at seeing fewer deer in popular hunting areas, a drop that some blame on the commission’s deer management practices. In the mountainous north-central region, where many hunting camps are located, the harvest of antlered deer (bucks) dropped 50 percent in two years, and antlerless (mainly does and young bucks) fell 70 percent.
By contrast, the harvest increased slightly in urban areas where hunting is difficult.
2005 Deer Harvest
Deer kills varied widely. In Pennsylvania’s popular north-central area, it plummeted for the second year in a row; in the southeast, it grew.
Numbers by region
2005 1 year 2 years
Total 354,390 -13% -24%
Southeast* 31,000 +5% +4%
Northcentral** 11,200 -35% -63%
* Wildlife Management Units 5C and 5D
** WMU 2G
SOURCE: Pa. Game Commission