December 1, 2022 at 12:37 p.m.
2022 deer season sees fewer licenses sold, more deer harvested
2022 deer season sees fewer licenses sold, more deer harvested
The total harvest was up 8% over the five year average. Wildlife biologist Jeff Pritzl said there were likely many reasons for this, including an earlier opener and milder weather. There were 203,295 deer registered during the gun deer season this year, he said. Of those, 98,397 were antlered deer. Antlerless deer accounted for 104,898 registrations. The increase percentage for both antlered and antlerless deer was similar, at 14.7% and 14.1%, respectively.
Pritzl said the department does take into account the estimated number of deer that are not registered each year. That estimate is 15%, he said.
In the Northern Forest Zone, both antlered and antlerless harvest were up, with 23,962 antlered deer being registered and 14,833 antlerless tags filled. This total of 38,795 represents a 19.3% increase over last year and an 11.3% increase from the running five year average.
In Oneida County, 1,877 deer were harvested with 1,173 of those being antlered deer. This was a 28% increase over last year, but only 3.6% better than the five-year average.
Vilas County hunters registered 1,336 deer, with 813 of those being bucks. That brought the season total to 21.8% higher than last year, with the antlerless deer harvest being 46.2% higher than last year at 522 compared to 357. This total was 23% higher than the running five-year average.
License sales through midnight Sunday, Nov. 27
This year 554,898 hunters requested authorization for gun privileges, which includes those purchasing tags for gun season as well as sports and patron licenses. That is down from 564,440 last year. Gun deer licenses only accounted for 436,423 of those sales.
In total, including gun, bow, crossbow, sports and patron, 795,072 licenses were sold. That is down from 808,224 last year at the end of the nine-day gun deer season.
Hunting incidents
This year there were eight hunting incidents during the gun deer season, including one fatality. In that instance, a 41-year-old male shot an 11-year-old boy in the chest while attempting to unload his rifle, which was in the back seat of a vehicle. In six of those cases, the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. Three incidents occurred between two members of the same hunting party, and one incident was between members of different hunting parties.
According to DNR conservation warden April Dombrowski, hunting in Wisconsin remains relatively safe, with incidents in the last 10 years staying in the single digits.
CWD
With the archery and crossbow season ongoing until Jan. 8, 2023, Pritzl said the DNR is still encouraging hunters to get their deer tested for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease).
It is not recommended that humans consume meat from an animal that tests positive for the disease.
Hunters can take advantage of self-service kiosks, such as the one located at the DNR Service Centers in Rhinelander and Woodruff, or they can bring their deer to a processor, who can assist with that testing.
Deer Donation Program
Pritzl also encourages hunters to participate in the Deer Donation Program run by the department. Hunters who harvest a deer in Wisconsin can help others by donating the meat from that deer to the Deer Donation Program.
According to the DNR, since the program's inception in the year 2000, over 94,000 deer have been donated through the program. This adds up to over 3.8 million pounds of ground venison.
Only deer harvested within the state can be donated to the program.
Deer harvested in CWD-affected counties must be tested for CWD before being donated to the program. Testing is free of charge and processors or taxidermists can facilitate those tests for hunters.
The DNR has some advice for hunters looking to donate deer to the program.
• Field dress your deer. Please handle the carcass as if it were destined for your table. A couple of bags of ice placed in the cavity will help preserve the carcass in warm weather.
• Register your deer. Make a note of your registration confirmation number, which you'll need later. If your deer was harvested from one of the CWD-affected counties please ensure that you have completed the required CWD testing prior to donating.
• Call ahead! Contact one of the participating processors before dropping off your deer to ensure they have space to accept it.
• Drop off your deer at a participating processor.
It is free to participate in the program and hunters may donate the entire deer, or keep the head for mounting.
Processors in the Northwoods include lake Tomahawk Custom Processing, TJ's Butcher Block and Prime Choice Butchers.
Deer harvested per square mile
The Central Farmland Zone in Adams County led the state with over 12 deer registered per square mile. Vernon County led the Southern Farmland Zone with almost seven deer registered per square mile. The Central Forest Zone in Eau Claire County registered 4.8 deer per square mile. Taylor County registered the most per square mile in the Northern Forest Zone at four.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.