DNR: Deer harvest down

DES MOINES — Deer hunters reported taking nearly 70,000 deer during the recent shotgun deer seasons.

The kill is about 9 percent lower than what was reported in 2010 and about 30 percent below the reported harvest in 2006. The number of licenses issued for these seasons was about the same as in 2010 and 5 percent lower than in 2006.

“The reduced kill is a result of a reduced deer population,” said Dale Garner, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau. “Deer numbers in many areas are near the department's objective and we’re encouraging hunters to be more selective with their harvest.

“We have been hearing complaints from hunters they are not seeing the number of deer they had in the past and some are voicing their concerns the herd reduction has gone too far,” Garner said. “My advice to those hunters is to work with the landowner to see if the deer population is at a desirable level and adjust the local doe harvest accordingly.”