The number of deer being harvested by Game Licence-holders in Victoria increased by 10,000 from 2014 to 2015, according to the ‘Estimates of harvest for deer in Victoria’.
Game Management Authority today released data obtained through telephone surveys of Game Licence-holders licensed to hunt deer. The information collected included the amount of time spent hunting each year, the number of deer harvested, hunting methods and more.
In 2014, each licence-holder hunted on approximately 6.7 days, with an average yearly harvest of 2.2 deer each. The results for the following year were similar, with the licence-holders hunting on 6.8 days and harvesting 2.4 deer each.
Based on the total number of people endorsed to hunt deer, this corresponds to an estimated 62,165 deer harvested during the 2014 deer-hunting season in Victoria and 71,142 in 2015.
The most commonly harvested species in 2014 and 2015 was Sambar, with an estimated total harvest of 51,390 and 55,094 respectively, followed by Fallow deer, with an estimated 7870 and 14,488 harvested respectively.
The majority of those deer were found in the Goulburn Broken CMA region, followed by the East Gippsland CMA and the North East CMA regions. In 2014 the top five towns for the total reported number of deer harvested were (in descending order) Mansfield, Bairnsdale, Dargo, Benalla and Myrtleford. The top five towns for the total reported number of deer harvested the following year were Mansfield, Myrtleford, Dargo, Bairnsdale and Licola.
For the full story on the harvest report, read the December edition of the Victorian Shooter magazine.
