National Doe Harvest in Review
American hunters killed more antlerless deer than antlered bucks for the first time in 1999, a huge milestone that was celebrated by this organization and its members. Doe harvests remained high for many seasons afterward. That trend faded by 2015, and since then we have struggled to kill more antlerless than antlered deer, as you can see in the chart below.
There were good reasons doe harvest declined in many areas in the past decade. Serious outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease (EHD and bluetongue viruses), severe winters, and other issues led hunters and wildlife agencies to ring alarm bells about deer numbers in many areas. But those issues do not persist year to year. The national deer harvest is a big ship with a lot of inertia, and changes in course take years to realize. Just as it took years to get hunters on board with doe harvest, it is proving difficult to get them back on board after the highly publicized alarm calls of a decade ago.
Other factors present headwinds as well. Hunter numbers continue to decline, and the average hunter who remains active is taking fewer deer. In our 2021 Deer Report, we found only 41% of deer hunters nationally killed at least one deer in 2019, which was down from 50% in 2011. Only 18% of deer hunters killed more than one deer in 2019, down from 23% in 2011.
As a result, we are now seeing doe harvest drop in many states and regions. Like NDA’s founders, we still face declining hunter numbers. And now there’s an added threat: CWD continues to spread across the landscape. High-density deer herds exceeding the carrying capacity of their habitat are like dry, neglected woods when embers of disease drift in. It is more urgent than ever that we use doe harvest wherever appropriate to maintain healthy deer populations in balance with their habitat.
What About Florida?
Going strictly by the numbers, Florida has the lowest antlerless/antlered ratio in the Southeast at 0.4, and the 2021 antlerless harvest was down 22% from the five-year average. This is a special case that doesn’t warrant a red flag. With marginal deer habitat in much of the state, Florida’s deer herd can’t sustain a heavy doe harvest without shrinking. But Florida’s best deer habitat is in the north and in the Panhandle – right where CWD was discovered in 2023. As a region, Panhandle deer hunters need to maintain adequate doe harvest wherever possible. NDA’s Panhandle Branch supports Florida Hunters for the Hungry Inc. and Panama City’s Share the Harvest. Donate deer at the Deer Shack in Panama City.
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