Deer Facts
Know the Facts about Living with Deer and Deer Hunting

Having a Beautiful Garden in Deer Country
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Lyme Disease
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Driving in Deer Country
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Hunting won’t stop deer from eating ornamental flowers and plants: Killing deer because we want to protect certain vegetation does not stop the surviving deer from eating those same plants. Also deer repellants, and fencing techniques designed to minimize garden and landscape damage by deer are recommended. Download Fact Sheet

Hunting does not stop the spread of Lyme disease: Many wildlife species carry the larval and nymph stages of the tick which are most infectious to humans. The tick can be found on 49 bird species and are commonly carried by white-footed mice, chipmunks, grey squirrels, voles, foxes, rabbits, and opossums. When deer numbers are reduced, ticks tend to congregate at higher densities on the remaining deer or switch to alternate hosts. Download Fact Sheet

Killing deer won’t reduce automobile accidents: Killing some deer does absolutely nothing to prevent the surviving deer from crossing the roads. It even has been suggested that hunting season has a disruptive effect by startling deer and putting them “on the run”. Download Fact Sheet

Hunting actually increases the deer population: While the numbers do decrease immediately after a hunt, over time the deer population increases due to increased nutritional health for the remaining deer. Several scientific studies indicate that better-nourished deer have higher productivity, lower neonatal mortality, increased conception rates, and increased pregnancy in yearlings. In hunted populations, does are more likely to have twins rather than single fawns, and are more likely to reproduce at a younger age, helping the population grow even faster.

Bow hunting: Bow hunting does not effectively reduce deer populations due to extremely high crippling rates. Scientific studies indicate that bow hunting yields more than a 50% crippling rate. While a deer shot with a rifle takes 5-10 minutes to die an animal shot by a bow may take 60-70 minutes. 

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