DOVER, Del.- Delaware natural resources officials say hunters killed fewer deer during the 2012-2013 hunting season.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control on Wednesday announced that hunters killed 13,302 deer, down 1.9 percent from the year before. Despite the drop, this year's harvest is the eighth highest on record. According to state officials, the drop was expected because of changes made over the past few years to reduce the state's overabundant deer population.
"We expected the harvest to be lower this season compared to last year, because over the past few years we made several changes to the deer management program in an attempt to reduce Delaware's overabundant deer population," said Deer and Furbearer Biologist Joe Rogerson of DNREC's Division of Fish and Wildlife. "Delaware's highest deer harvest occurred during the 2004-05 season, followed by a gradual but steady drop in numbers that mirrored the declining deer population. As a result we expected hunters to harvest fewer animals because they would be encountering fewer deer while afield."
Hunters killed more does than bucks, with females accounting for 52 percent of the deer taken. And the number of deer taken by archers hit an all-time high at 1,941.
