Deer shortage in Sask. makes for tough hunting season

Watch the video above: Saskatchewan deer numbers down

REGINA – There’s bad news for Saskatchewan hunters – the white-tailed deer population is in sharp decline. The provincial government has responded and has cut the hunting season in half as a conservation measure.

“This is the first year I didn’t buy a white tail tag in my life,” said Todd Graham, manager at Great Northern Rod and Reel in Regina. “Not a lot of deer out there, don’t really get too excited to chase something that’s not there.”

Two past harsh winters with heavy snow and fierce cold  have caused the drastic downturn in white-tailed deer numbers.

Graham said this is the worst business they’ve ever seen at the opening of a season. The few customers they do have wander from the hunting to the fishing department.

“It’s slowed down. People just aren’t going afield, so they don’t need to buy anything. If they aren’t hunting, they’re not buying anything,” said Graham.

“As of a few weeks ago, we were sitting at about 21,000 licenses for Saskatchewan residents of either sex…I believe last year, we had about 35,000,” explained Travis Williams, with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.

For those hunters still enthusiastic about going out this season, they should be prepared for less of a hunt, and more of a nature walk.

“We’re certainly hearing from hunters who are out in the field right now, that the deer populations are in some places could have been impacted as much as 80 per cent, 90 per cent,” said Darrell Crabbe, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation executive director.

He added, “White-tail deer are not native to Saskatchewan: they’ve migrated to Saskatchewan over the last 100 years and our mule deer population are better equipped to handle the winter.”

Crabbe said harsh winters decimated deer populations in the 1970’s and 1990’s – the solution is prudent conservation in future seasons and grace from mother nature.

“If we had another severe winter as an example and in those cases I think they’d have to look at severely curtailing not only non-residents, but residents as well,” he said.

The ministry says it is considering implementing a draw system for white-tailed deer if the numbers drop low enough.