HaensHaven
11-28-2003, 04:05 PM
Opening weekend deer kill up from last year
But it's down 20% from pre-disease 2001
By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Nov. 24, 2003
Wisconsin hunters killed more deer during the opening weekend of the 2003 deer gun hunting season than last year, when the discovery of chronic wasting disease cast uncertainty over the annual fall hunt.
The weekend hunt also produced two fatalities, according to the Department of Natural Resources. In all, 10 hunters were shot; four of the wounds were self-inflicted. Last year, nine hunting accidents were reported during opening weekend.
The first two days of the nine-day season typically produce half of all accidents involving firearms, said Tim Lawhern, a DNR game warden.
Hunters killed 122,080 deer on Saturday and Sunday, according to preliminary figures from the DNR.
That compared with 120,660 deer that were killed in the same period of 2002. Many hunters last year were worried about the fatal deer disease discovered in Dane County earlier in the year, and some stayed out of the woods.
Conditions ranged from good to poor on Saturday, and on Sunday, drizzle, rain and strong northeast winds ravaged much of southern Wisconsin, the DNR said. The Madison area received 1.7 inches of rain from last Saturday to Sunday.
While numbers were up over last year, the deer kill was down sharply - 20% - from 2001, when 151,929 deer were killed during the opening weekend.
The DNR said it hoped that weather conditions would improve to make it easier for the hunters.
Wisconsin's deer population totaled 1.4 million before the hunt, and officials are hoping for a big kill to drive down deer numbers. The overpopulation of deer has wreaked havoc on plants deer feed on, helping to upend the ecosystem in many parts of Wisconsin.
But it's down 20% from pre-disease 2001
By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Nov. 24, 2003
Wisconsin hunters killed more deer during the opening weekend of the 2003 deer gun hunting season than last year, when the discovery of chronic wasting disease cast uncertainty over the annual fall hunt.
The weekend hunt also produced two fatalities, according to the Department of Natural Resources. In all, 10 hunters were shot; four of the wounds were self-inflicted. Last year, nine hunting accidents were reported during opening weekend.
The first two days of the nine-day season typically produce half of all accidents involving firearms, said Tim Lawhern, a DNR game warden.
Hunters killed 122,080 deer on Saturday and Sunday, according to preliminary figures from the DNR.
That compared with 120,660 deer that were killed in the same period of 2002. Many hunters last year were worried about the fatal deer disease discovered in Dane County earlier in the year, and some stayed out of the woods.
Conditions ranged from good to poor on Saturday, and on Sunday, drizzle, rain and strong northeast winds ravaged much of southern Wisconsin, the DNR said. The Madison area received 1.7 inches of rain from last Saturday to Sunday.
While numbers were up over last year, the deer kill was down sharply - 20% - from 2001, when 151,929 deer were killed during the opening weekend.
The DNR said it hoped that weather conditions would improve to make it easier for the hunters.
Wisconsin's deer population totaled 1.4 million before the hunt, and officials are hoping for a big kill to drive down deer numbers. The overpopulation of deer has wreaked havoc on plants deer feed on, helping to upend the ecosystem in many parts of Wisconsin.