The Department of Conservation says during the November portion of the firearms deer season in Missouri 194,000 deer have been killed and those numbers are up from the previous year.
Resource Scientist Jason Sumners says compared to last November’s 190,000 deer harvested, the numbers have increased and largely due to the poor acorn crops this year.
“To this point, we’ve killed just over 194,000 deer which is up from last year,” he says. “In 2011, during the November portion of the firearms deer season, we harvested 190,000 deer.”
Sumners says the increase in harvest this year is somewhat expected. “Primarily because of the poor acorn crop and deer are using more open areas in search of food,” he says. The lack of acorn crops made it more vulnerable for deer to be harvested.
He says the November portion of the firearms deer season accounts for about 60 percent of the total deer harvest.
AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (:55)