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DEC Announces 2024-25 Deer Harvest Estimates
Published: May 30, 2025 at
03:00 p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Announces 2024-25 Deer Harvest Estimates
New Yorkers Encouraged to Remain Vigilant to Prevent
the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease; Response Report Released
The New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that
hunters in New York harvested an estimated 223,304 deer during the 2024-25
hunting seasons. In addition, DEC announced the release of a report noting
agency actions in response to the Herkimer County chronic
wasting disease (CWD) incident and the State’s plans for continued,
intensified disease surveillance.
"New York
hunters had another safe and productive hunting season, providing a
sustainable food source for themselves and their families and helping DEC
manage the state’s deer herd," said DEC Commissioner Amanda
Lefton. "By engaging in safe and ethical hunting practices and
reporting their harvest, hunters continued the tradition of being
conservation stewards. We also thank hunters and responsible landowners for
assisting in actions to reduce the spread of CWD to New York’s white-tailed
deer and moose populations to help protect the future of deer hunting and
support the sustainable use of venison.”
The 2024-25
estimated deer harvest included 122,427 antlered bucks (i.e., adult males)
and 100,877 antlerless deer (i.e., adult females and fawns of either sex).
Statewide, this represents a nine percent increase in antlered buck
harvest and a three percent increase in antlerless deer harvest from last
season. However, the total deer harvest was slightly below the five-year
average. The Western Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario Plains regions had the
highest deer harvest densities, with more than 10 deer harvested per square
mile in WMUs 8G, 8H, 8M, 8N, 8R, 8S, 8T, and
8X.
Notable Numbers
1. 15.7 and 0.6 --- number of deer harvested per square mile in the units
with the highest (WMU 8R) and lowest (WMU 5F) harvest density.
2. 66.9% --- portion
of the adult buck harvest that was 2.5 years or older statewide, up from
52% a decade ago, and 30% in the 1990s.
3. 53.6% --- portion
of successful deer hunters that reported their harvest as required by law.
This is greater than the five-year average of 48.2%.
4. 13,488 --- number
of hunter-harvested deer checked by DEC staff in 2024 to determine hunter
reporting rate and collect biological data (e.g., age, sex, antler data).
This represents 6% of the total 2024-25 deer harvest.
5. 18,372 --- number of deer harvested using a crossbow, less than
half as many as were taken with a vertical bow.
Deer harvest data
are gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required within seven
days of harvest of all successful deer hunters and DEC’s examination
of harvested deer at meat processors and check stations across the
state. Harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing
these two data sources and calculating the total harvest from the reporting
rate for each zone and tag type.
DEC’s 2024-25
Deer Harvest Summary report provides tables, figures, and maps
detailing the deer harvest and CWD surveillance efforts around the state.
Past harvest summaries are also available on DEC’s Deer and Bear Hunting webpage.
Appendix two of DEC’s Management Plan for White-tailed Deer provides
information on how DEC sets deer population objectives throughout the
state.
Chronic Wasting
Disease Not Detected in Wild Deer
Last fall, a case
of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
was confirmed in a captive red deer herd in the town of Columbia, Herkimer
County. In coordination with the New York State Department of Agriculture
and Markets (AGM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), all captive
red deer at the facility were tested. DEC also increased its sampling
efforts for wild white-tailed deer. With the assistance of local hunters,
landowners, and USDA Wildlife Services, DEC collected samples from more
than 200 wild deer within the six towns surrounding the captive deer
facility where CWD was confirmed in 2024; none tested positive, providing
hope that CWD may not have spread into the wild deer herd.
A report of
agency actions in response to the Herkimer County CWD incident and plans
for continued intensified disease surveillance in the area are available on DEC’s website.
Statewide, DEC
collected samples from and tested 3,189 deer for CWD in 2024, the largest
sampling effort since 2008. Since 2002, DEC has collected and tested more
than 69,000 deer for CWD. No positive cases of CWD have been detected in
wild deer since 2005.
It is important
that hunters remain vigilant to prevent the spread of CWD and practice the
following guidelines:
1. If hunting any
type of deer, elk, moose, or caribou outside of New York, debone the
harvest before bringing it back to the state. DEC will confiscate and
destroy illegally imported carcasses and parts;
2. Avoid deer
urine-based lures or attractant scents, as these
could contain infectious material. If using lures, use synthetics;
3. Dispose of
carcass waste in a landfill, not out on the landscape;
4. Hunt only wild
deer and support fair chase hunting principles;
5. Do not consume game that appears sick or diseased; and
6. Contact the
nearest DEC regional
wildlife office or Environmental
Conservation Police Officer to report a deer that appears sick,
unusually thin, or behaves abnormally.
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