World Courant
Hunters killed considerably fewer deer throughout Wisconsin’s nine-day gun season this yr than they did final yr, in keeping with preliminary information launched Tuesday by the state Division of Pure Sources.
After kicking off with a sluggish opening weekend, hunters reported a complete of 173,942 deer harvested from Nov. 18-26, a 17.6% lower from the 2022 season and roughly 11% under the state’s five-year common. Hunters in northern Wisconsin noticed the steepest declines.
WISCONSIN DEER HUNT’S UNDERWHELMING OPENING WEEKEND BLAMED ON WARM WEATHER, LACK OF SNOW
“There have been in all probability fewer deer on the panorama than there have been final yr at the moment,” Jeff Pritzl, the DNR’s deer specialist, mentioned in a information convention. In response to Pritzl, a extreme winter final yr could have diminished populations in northern forests and throughout the state.
White-tailed deer buck within the woods close to Jefferson Barracks Nationwide Cemetery, St. Louis. (iStock)
Final yr’s gun deer season in Wisconsin was above common because of snow cowl that made deer stand out and a scarcity of standing corn for them to cover in. This yr, hunters have been met with heat temperatures and a scarcity of snow on opening weekend. Pritzl referred to as the full harvest of 85,390 bucks and 88,552 antlerless deer “on the low finish of the five-year common, however definitely not unprecedented.”
WISCONSIN DECLINES TO CHARGE BOW HUNTER WHO KILLED COUGAR IN SELF-DEFENSE
The decreased harvest comes regardless of a negligible change within the variety of hunters statewide. As of midnight Sunday, the DNR had bought 553,479 licenses that let a hunter to kill a deer with a firearm, down solely a fraction of a p.c from the 554,898 licenses bought in 2022.
The DNR reported three gun-related accidents in the course of the season. On opening weekend, a 53-year-old man in Argonne shot himself within the foot whereas strolling to a tree stand, and a 62-year-old man in Huge Flatts shot at a canine on personal property that he believed was a deer. His bullet struck a 47-year-old lady who was strolling the canine, and she or he was flown to a close-by hospital for her accidents. On Friday, a hunter in Rib Lake shot a 30-year-old man within the thigh throughout a deer drive. Not one of the accidents have been deadly.
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The DNR has reported a mean of roughly six gun-related accidents per deer season over the previous 10 years. 4 of these years noticed deadly incidents. Final yr, eight gun-related accidents have been reported, together with 4 that have been self-inflicted.
