New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
New Jersey's "Earn-a-Buck" program has proven to be a valuable tool for increasing the harvest of antlerless deer. Deer problems have been reduced in many suburban and urban areas of the state due to the increased harvest of antlerless deer. Deer management objectives can continue to be met through a cooperative effort between the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the sportsmen and women of New Jersey.
At the request of Director Bob McDowell, a national survey of antlerless deer harvest rates was undertaken. White-tailed deer producing states were queried regarding their most recent antlered versus antlerless (females and button bucks) deer harvests. Responses were obtained from all 45 states surveyed.
Thirty-five of the 45 responding states were able to provide 2000-01 harvest data. The remaining states provided results of their 1999-00 deer seasons. Four states (Alabama, Delaware, Georgia and South Dakota) could not provide antlered versus antlerless comparisons. In those cases antlerless harvest rates were estimated based on male versus female harvest summaries. Estimated antlerless rates were not considered in state to state comparisons.
Results of the survey indicated that New Jersey is harvesting antlerless, white-tailed deer at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. The antlerless harvest in New Jersey comprised 70 percent of the total deer harvest. Based on this finding, and taking into consideration hunting pressure on antlered bucks (i.e. bag limits), it can be argued that no other state is taking a more aggressive approach than New Jersey in reducing problem deer herds.
Other states where a high percentage of their harvest consisted of antlerless deer included: Wisconsin (66%), Arkansas (64%), Kansas (62%) and Pennsylvania (60%). During the 2000-01 deer seasons a total of 54,137 antlerless deer were taken in New Jersey. The antlerless harvest in New Jersey exceeded the combined antlerless harvest of 41,404 from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The survey also revealed that over 6,700,000 white-tailed deer are harvested on an annual basis in the United States, yielding tremendous economic and recreational benefits. Based on total harvest, the top producing white-tailed states in the nation were Wisconsin (616,923), Michigan (541,701), Pennsylvania (504,600) and Texas (424,533).
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