GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The number deer harvested during the just-concluded gun-deer season is down sharply compared to a year ago.
A preliminary report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says hunters killed 90,286 deer in 2019, down from 123,090 in 2018. That’s a decrease of 26.7%.
The DNR’s Jeff Pritzl says the drop can likely be attributed to the late start to the season.
“Because of the calendar shift, having the latest possible season opener, that does have an effect when we look at that phenomenon from previous years,” Pritzl told WTAQ.
Hunters have told the DNR the deer have been hard to find.
“Deer activity and observations of deer certainly appeared to be depressed and slow compared to what we’re accustomed to or what expectations were,” said Pritzl.
There were no counties in the state that reported increases from a year ago.
