Preliminary Vermont deer hunting data released

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Preliminary numbers show Vermont hunters didn’t bag quite as many deer as last year, but the numbers were on par with the 10-year average.

While the final number of deer taken won’t be available for a few more weeks, Vermont Fish & Wildlife experts say the final tally will be around 15,600 deer.

They say those deer will provide more than three million servings of local venison.

The buck harvest and antlerless deer harvests are expected to be slightly down.

The buck harvest will be close to 9,000, which is down slightly from 9,255 taken in 2020, but near the 10-year average of 8,938.

The final antlerless deer harvest will be around 6,600. That’s down considerably from 9,735 in 2020, but similar to antlerless harvests before 2020.

Experts say the decline was expected as they’ve been working to reduce deer numbers in certain areas to balance them out with the habitat.

Fewer permits were also issued this year.

Copyright 2021 WCAX. All rights reserved.