Deer Season is About Population Control

Firearm deer season in Pennsylvania started today.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has approved an allocation of 117,000 white-tailed deer to hunters in this section of the state. That’s the highest allocation by far in any of the 22 wildlife units in Pennsylvania.

Each year the state sets allocations to reduce, keep stable or increase the deer populations in the different areas. In our unit, known as 5C, the deer population has gotten so great that the animals become road hazards and create health issues for humans, especially with lyme disease, according the PGC.

To keep a population stable, the cull rate is set at about 50 percent of the estimated population of deer. The allocation rate for 5C is meant to decrease our deer population for 2012, so the rate is greater than 50 percent of the population.

Firearm deer season runs for 12 days, Nov. 28 to Dec. 10.

If you are on the hunt this season, upload your pictures and tell us about your hunt.