Deer Economics 101

Posted on October 19, 2012

There is no denying that deer hunters open their wallets wide when it’s time to buy gear or hunting licenses, pay for a meal or hotel room on a hunting trip, or buy into a hunting lease. Hunting is one of America’s largest industries. Some states, like Georgia, discover many benefits when deer season nears—or opens. Management of the herd and monies for conservation are two big benefits created by hunting.

“Regulated hunting is the most cost effective and efficient means of managing the deer herd,” says John W. Bowers, assistant chief of Game Management for Georgia’s Wildlife Resources Division. “In addition, sportsmen and women provide more than $30 million each year to fund wildlife conservation in the state through license fees and self-imposed excise taxes collected on the purchase of firearms, ammunition, archery equipment and fishing equipment.” There are also millions of reasons—make that acres—to go afield in search whitetails in The Peach State.

More than one million acres of public hunting land is available to hunters in Georgia, including more than 100 state-operated wildlife management areas. In addition to traditional hunts, many special hunts are offered, including ladies-only and adult/child hunts. Dates and locations for these hunts, as well as Wildlife Management Area maps, are available in the 2012-2013 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide at www.gohuntgeorgia.com/hunting/regulations. Hunters in Georgia also bring home plenty of venison to create future meals.

During the state’s 2011-2012 firearms deer season, there were nearly 280,000 licensed deer hunters afield and they harvested more than 340,000 deer. Even with hunting seasons, Georgia’s deer herd remains at an estimated statewide population of about one million deer.

Like many states in the Southeast, Georgia’s deer hunting season is open now and will remain open into January 2013.

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