200,000 deer hunted in NYS during most recent season
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said 209,781 deer were harvested during the 2023 to 2024 hunting season. The most recent harvest was nearly five times as many older bucks than in 1969, the same year the DEC began keeping track of the state's deer age structure.
An estimated 112,224 male deer and 97,557 female deer were killed during the 2023 to 2024 hunting season, a 3.6 decrease in antlered bucks and a 15.6 decrease in antlerless deer. The 15.6 decrease concerns the DEC as it could lead to unbalanced deer populations, creating a larger chance for increased deer-vehicle collisions, crop damage, and more.
Some Wildlife Management Units in New York are not hunting enough female deer, the highest populations in the Western Finger Lakes region and Central Appalachian Plateau. Harvesting female deer also ensures they meet nutrition demands for antler development, fawn recruitment, and body growth.
Interim DEC Commissioner Sean Mahar said nearly 70% of last year's bucks were two years or older, demonstrating the growth of a DEC program. "This demonstrates the continued effectiveness of DEC’s Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow campaign, and the willingness of hunters to voluntarily pass up opportunities at young bucks to improve their future opportunities to harvest older bucks,” he said.