Results Are In; Numbers Down Big Time For NYS Hunters This Season

It wasn't the best season for deer hunters in New York, but just how many did they take down this year?

According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, numbers were down this year for deer. Hunters in New York harvested an estimated 211,269 deer during the 2021-2022 season. This is down 17 percent from last season.

The DEC says there are several factors pointing towards the drop. One of those being a resurgence in Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. This causes deer to get hemorrhages and swelling of the head, neck, tongue and lips. The disease is spread by biting midges and cannot be transmitted deer-to-deer or to humans.

The other reason for the drop, according to the DEC, would be the fewer number of Deer Management Permits. On the positive side, New York did see a 36-percent jump in youth deer harvests and a late season increase among younger hunters.

Of the deer harvested this past season, 110,839 were antlered bucks and 100,430 were antlerless deer. This shows a 5% decrease in antlered bucks and a 25% decrease in antlerless deer from last year.

Regions like the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and the eastern shore of Lake Ontario saw the greatest declines. This is because these regions were also the most heavily impacted by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease.