ODNR Proposes Changes To Deer Hunting

More than 21,000 deer were killed during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader hunt in January.(Photo: Flickr)

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February 7, 2013

by Steve Brown

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More than 21,000 deer were killed during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader hunt in January.(Photo: Flickr)

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources wants to cut in half the total number of deer a hunter can kill in a year.

As it stands now, a hunter can kill up to 18 deer in one year with the combination of muzzleloaders, shotgun, and archery seasons. ODNR wants to cut that to nine in the 2013-2014 season, while also instituting local bag limits instead of the regional limits is now uses.

The proposed rule changes would do away with both the bonus shotgun hunting weekend that usually follows the week-long hunt, and the early muzzleloader season offered at three state parks in the fall.

The changes were proposed by ODNR on Wednesday, and will be voted on in April after several townhall meetings in March.

The proposed changes come as state wildlife officials report 21,555 deer killed during Ohio’s muzzleloader hunt last month. That’s a 12 percent increase over the 2012 muzzleloader hunt.

Comments

http://www.facebook.com/richard.presley Rick Presley

How do we know what the optimal deer population is? I still see too many deer-car accident victims and wonder how many deer are too many.
- Lauren
  
  Likely, deer killed in traffic incidents are included (or at least estimated) in overall death rates.
Lauren

I wish this story went a little further by exploring ODNR’s reasons (likely related to current deer populations); are some regions of the state affected more than others? Without more information, the proposed changes are de-contextualized figures.