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During the 2018-2019 deer hunting season, an estimated 227,787 white-tailed deer were killed, according to new numbers released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, marking a 12 percent increase over the previous year.
The estimated state deer take included 114,402 antler-less deer and 113,385 antlered bucks. Statewide, this represents a 20 percent increase in antler-less harvest and a 5 percent increase in buck harvest from last season.
According to the 2018 New York White Tail Deer Harvest Summary, hunters from three Suffolk County towns took down the most deer in the state:
Brookhaven was fifth overall, with a total take of 825, including 334 bucks, followed by Southold (25th overall), with a total take of 618 (180 bucks) and Southampton (27th) with a total take of 603 (237 bucks).
"Whether through organized deer hunting cooperatives or due to personal decisions, it's exciting to see how the voluntary choice of hunters to Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow is shifting our buck harvest," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. "Many hunters desire to see older, large bucks on the landscape, and as hunters choose to pass on shots at young bucks, that change is happening."
Seggos said that, “hunting benefits all New Yorkers by reducing negative impacts of deer on forests, agricultural crops, and communities, while contributing an estimated $690 million to the state's economy through hunting-related expenses and license purchases, which helps support conservation and resource management efforts at DEC.”
The complete report from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation can be found here.
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