A total of 806 white-tailed deer were killed in the state park reduction hunts in 2015 that were conducted in 14 state parks. The hunts were on Nov. 16 and 17 and Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
That total is the second-smallest number of deer killed since the hunts first began in 1993. That first year, the hunts were conducted only at Brown County State Park, and 392 deer were killed.
In 2014, a total of 1,004 deer were killed in 19 state parks. In 2012, when 14 state parks had reduction hunts, 1,292 deer were harvested.
Mike Mycroft, a district biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Fish and Wildlife, has compiled the statistics after the hunts since 2007. He believes that even though the numbers are low, it’s not because the hunts are no longer needed.
“We had some less-than-favorable weather,” Mycroft said. “With fewer hunters showing up, you’ll have less deer being harvested.”
And, he said, “A lot of these parks have different acreage. Overall, we may have had the same number of parks (as in 2012), but not the same number of hunters.”
That’s because the number of hunters allowed in the state parks for the hunts is determined by the number of acres. In the drawings for the hunts, the agency allows one hunter for every 15 to 20 acres in the state park.
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