Hunters have checked a record 214,022 deer during the 2020-21 hunting season with more than a month left in Arkansas’ archery deer season.
The harvest is the largest recorded since the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began keeping records in 1938.
The previous record was 213,487 deer, set in the 2012-13 season. During the 2019-20 deer hunting season the harvest dipped to 188,151.
“Last season was the result of a perfect storm lined up against harvest,” said Ralph Meeker, Game and Fish deer program coordinator. “Spring and summer flooding in 2018 and 2019 contributed to lower fawn recruitment in certain parts of the state. Then a massive crop of acorns reduced deer movement and made deer feeders much less productive.
“On top of that, flooding during the peak of the gun season closed hunting in some parts of the state.”
Last year is the first in many when hunter numbers did not decline, according to license sales numbers from the last five years.
Meeker points out that this season’s increase in hunting licenses might be because of virus issues and people finding new ways to spend time in an outdoor setting.
Covid-19 may have influenced hunters’ mindsets toward the number of deer they harvested. The pandemic caused meat shortages throughout the nation last year, which may have increased people’s view of venison as a healthy and sustainable alternative to beef and pork.
“I know of several people who harvested or attempted to harvest more deer than they normally would this season to fill their freezer for the coming year,” Meeker said. “All of the factors that hindered harvest in 2019 were nearly the exact opposite in 2020.”