Delaware hunters registered 17,265 harvested deer during the 2020-21 hunting season, surpassing the previous record harvest of 16,969 deer set last year. This marks the eighth consecutive year that more than 14,000 deer were harvested.
With the record-breaking total harvest, numerous other records were surpassed this year. The November Shotgun Season harvest of 7,072 deer surpassed the previous year record of 7,016 deer; and the adult doe harvest of 8,439 deer, surpassed the previous year’s record of 8,122 deer.
Nine of the 18 Wildlife Management Zones—Zones 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17—had record harvests.
Public land harvest was 14.8% of total harvest, with the previous record 14.4% set during the 2018-19 season.
Sussex County had the highest harvest with 9,580 deer during the 2020-21 season, followed by Kent County with 4,863 and New Castle County with 2,822.
With all Sundays open to deer hunting for the third consecutive year, a total of 2,168 deer were harvested on the 22 Sundays open to deer hunting on private lands and designated DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife public wildlife areas.
During the 2020-21 hunting season, hunters harvested more does than bucks, with the harvest comprised of 56.3% (9,722) does of all age classes and 43.7% (7,543) bucks. Antlerless deer without antlers or antlers measuring less than three inches, represented 72.4% of the total harvest.
The doe harvest increased to 56.3% of the total harvest, and Delaware continues to have one of the highest antlerless deer harvest rates per square mile in the nation, both important to manage the size and quality of Delaware’s deer population.
Biologists will continue to analyze the harvest data over the coming weeks, and more detailed information will be posted on the Division’s website upon completion of all analyses.
The Sportsman Against Hunger Program had another successful year through the generosity of hunters, with 758 donated deer yielding more than 21,000 pounds of processed venison meat. The venison was distributed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife to charitable organizations to provide over 84,000 meals to those in need.