Delaware’s 2012-13 Deer Harvest Down Slightly From Last Season

DOVER – Delaware hunters harvested 13,302 deer during the 2012-2013 season, a 1.9 percent drop from the previous season’s take of 13,559, but well within the average harvest totals for the past five years (13,551), the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife announced today. The 2012-2013 deer harvest ranks as the eighth all-time highest deer harvest for Delaware.
“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 the 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.”

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