The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is launching its “Choose a Doe” campaign to encourage hunters to harvest more female deer and help keep populations in balance.
Before 2015, New York hunters harvested more does than bucks. That trend has reversed in recent years, contributing to growing deer populations across much of the state, according to the DEC.
High deer populations can harm deer health, damage wildlife habitat, affect hunting opportunities and increase risks to the public. The DEC highlights five reasons to choose a doe this hunting season:
• Help the herd: Overpopulated herds are more vulnerable to disease, and deer may have smaller bodies and antlers.
• Help the habitat: Too many deer can damage plants that provide essential food and shelter for other wildlife.
• Help the hungry: A donated doe can provide up to 200 nutritious meals for New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity.
• Help the hunt: An imbalanced buck-to-doe ratio can reduce breeding-season activity, making buck sign and sightings less common. Late breeding can also reduce fawn survival.
• Help the hometown: Deer cause at least 65,000 vehicle collisions annually in New York and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to farms, orchards and communities. High deer populations also contribute to the spread of tick-borne diseases.
The DEC said new deer hunting regulations offer hunters greater opportunities and incentives to harvest does.
The agency encourages hunters to choose a doe this season as a way to support healthier deer herds, protect habitat and reduce conflicts between deer and people.
