Outdoor Nova Scotia: "The Best Way to be Informed."

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June 25, 1998 Kentville, N. S. - Hunters in Nova Scotia are scrambling for a chance to hunt does and fawns this fall. On June 24, the number of applications in the province's new "antlerless" deer draw program had reached 6000 after just four days.

"And they're still coming in steady," says Tony Nette, Large Mammal Wildlife Manager for the Department of Natural Resources in Kentville.

Hunters have been allowed to take only antlered bucks for the past five years. They will still have to buy a hunting license, allowing them to bag only one buck each, but this year 8150 of those hunters will be chosen at random to receive an anterless deer stamp.

An increase in the deer herd - up 59 percent since 1995, to 67,000 from 42,000 -- makes the widened hunt possible, according to Natural Resources. The increase is attributed to mild winters and a drop in coyote predation.

Anterless deer will be hunted in five of the seven zones introduced last year. Zones 3 and 7 (the tip of the Chignecto Peninsula and the Cape Breton Highlands area), where deer numbers are low, are exempt this year.

The zone system allows more intensive, accurate management of the deer population by taking into account that not all deer herds in the province are doing equally well. The old system managed the entire province as a single zone -- it was easy to understand and administer, says Nette, but it didn't provide protection where it was needed.

An overwhelming majority of callers to the antlerless draw call center regard the new program favorably, says Nette. The Nova Scotia Wildlife Federation endorses the change.

The draw system can be accessed by calling 1-900-565-DEER (3337). The cost for entering is $6 plus HST. The line will remain open until September 4. The names of winners will then be available at:  www.deerdraw.hmcgroup.ca.

Department of Natural Resources press release: www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=19980619001.

Additional Information

Deer Hunting By The Numbers
Source: N.S. Department of Natural Resources

• The deer hunting season in Nova Scotia runs for six weeks each fall.
• Deer bagged in 1997:  9863, an increase of more than 20 percent over the year before.
• Most productive counties:  Lunenburg County came first with 1118 taken, and Colchester County second with 1020.
• Number of licensed hunters last year:  almost 48,000.
• Official results of 1997 hunting season available at:
  www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=19980219003.

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