Fewer deer killed in 2008 hunting season than in 2007

Fewer deer were killed during the 2008 hunting season in the state than in 2007. The Department of Fish and Game reported that this was due to a shortened season as well as weather events that prevented hunters from pursuing their prey.

The preliminary figure for the 2008 season, released by Fish and Game, states that 10,945 deer were registered with the state. The 2007 season, with 13,559 deer killed, was the second-highest ever for the state. 14,402 deer were killed in, 1967 season, the most ever taken in the state.

In a statement from Fish and Game, Deer Project Leader Kent Gustafson said the reduced number of deer killed was an intended outcome. "The long, severe winter of 2007-08 reduced deer numbers in much of the state, and in response to that winter, either-sex hunting days were reduced in many Wildlife Management Units to reduce the doe kill and allow populations to recover more rapidly," he said.

Additionally, the December ice storm arrived just in time to spoil the final weekend of the archery season, which ended on Dec. 15.

In Belknap County, 549 dead deer were registered in 2008. This is less than the 771 that were taken in 2007 and the least since 2003 when 411 deer were registered in Belknap County.

Belknap's share of the state's kill was consistent with where it's been in the past. This wasn't the case for Carroll and Merrimack counties, which had about half as many deer killed in 2008 as in 2007.

Merrimack's decrease was likely the result of the closure of two registration stations, causing hunters to travel to nearby counties to register their kill.

With about 5-percent of the deer kill for the state this year, Belknap County was ninth out of New Hampshire's ten counties in terms of deer registered. Only Carroll County, with 391, had fewer this year. Hillsborough County, with 2,123 deer, had nearly 20-percent of the state's kill. Added together, Hillsborough, Grafton and Rockingham, the three counties where the most deer were killed, had more than half the state's take.