A survey of the 2016-2017 hunting season shows hunters across the state reported harvesting 149,811 deer—a 7.8 percent decrease from the previous season, and 11.2 percent below the 10-year average.
The survey showed harvests declined across all 9 districts, ranging from 1.2 percent in District 9 to 14.1 percent in District 5.
“We expect to see annual variations in harvest for various reasons, including weather, mast crop, disease, hunter effort and hunter selectivity,” said Jonathan Shaw, deer biologist. “Our mast crop was spotty, but some areas had good mast which can lead to declines in deer movements and a hunter’s ability to harvest deer.
The largest decline in harvest this year occurred in the northern Piedmont area, which saw some scattered hemorrhagic disease activity.” The number of active deer hunters in North Carolina remains relatively stable, but fluctuations at a local level can impact harvest numbers. “We tend to focus on trends rather than annual variations,” Shaw said. “We have observed declining trends in harvest and deer numbers in some parts of the state.”
Factors which affect deer number declines include increased doe harvest opportunities, which could lead to lower deer numbers. Outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease contributed to declines in some areas. Significant outbreaks occurred in 2012 in Districts 7 and 8; and in 2014, primarily in District 3.
The quality of habitat may be in decline because of land use practices, including development, farming and forestry practices. Coyotes and other predators have increased over the last two decades, and have significant impact on fawn recruitment. Predators alone will not decimate deer populations, but their presence along with other factors can affect declines.
“There are some possible solutions to address concerns about deer numbers in areas where they are declining,” said Shaw. “These solutions include promoting hunting and trapping of coyotes, habitat improvement, doe harvest management and overall harvest timing. Of course, we will continue to research and monitor data and trends.”
To view the summaries for this year’s deer harvest report, click here.