New York State DEC: 2022 Whitetail Deer harvest up ten-percent from year-prior
New York’s statewide whitetail deer harvest was up 10% from the year-before.
This development is according to the DEC. Officials say over 231,000 deer were harvested during the 2022 hunting seasons.
"DEC established several new deer hunting opportunities in 2021 and hunters took greater advantage of these opportunities during the 2022 season, including another safe, successful youth hunt," said Commissioner Seggos.
"Increased hunter success combined with recovering deer populations contributed to an overall increase in total deer harvest."
It was nearly an even split in terms of bucks and antlerless deer, including 116,425 with antlers and 115,536 without.
Across the state, hunters continued to voluntarily pass up young bucks, and about 64 percent of the antlered bucks harvested were 2.5 years old or older, the DEC said.
Notable statistics:
- 16.6 and 0.6 - number of deer taken per square mile in the units with the highest (WMU 8R) and lowest (WMU 5F) harvest density.
- 64% - portion of the adult buck harvest that was 2.5 years or older statewide, up from 45 percent a decade ago, and 30 percent in the 1990s.
- 46.4% - portion of successful deer hunters that reported harvest as required by law. This is below the five-year average of 49.3 percent.
- 13,568 - number of hunter-harvested deer checked by DEC staff in 2022 to determine hunter reporting rate and collect biological data (e.g., age, sex, antler characteristics).
- 2,727 - deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in 2022-23; none tested positive. DEC has tested 63,012 deer for CWD since 2002.
Deer harvest data are gathered from two main sources-harvest reports required of all successful 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.
Image via the New York State DEC.
