Urban Deer Management Facts

• In a healthy population, female deer can breed as fawns (6 to 7 months of age) producing young at 1 year of age. Average pregnancy rate of doe fawns in developed areas is 40 percent.
• Healthy adult does most often produce two fawns annually.
• Removing deer from a healthy population will NOT increase reproductive rates of the remaining deer. Deer in Pennsylvania breed once a year. Average reproductive rate for adult does in developed areas in Pennsylvania is 1.8 fawns/adult doe with 15 percent producing one fawn, 79 percent producing twins, and 6 percent producing triplets. Reproduction in females is already close to maximum.
• Deer can live up to 18 years.
• Deer populations can double in size every 2 to 3 years.
• Deer eat about 5 to 10 pounds of food daily.
• Deer home ranges are relatively small in urban areas (100 to 300 acres).
• Current birth control practices are costly and ineffective in controlling free-ranging deer populations in large areas.
• Hunters can assist landowners at no cost.
• Landowners can impose additional hunting restrictions on their property.
• Homeowners can waive the 50-yard archery or 150-yard firearm safety zone.
• Hunting does not increase deer-vehicle accidents. During fall, deer naturally move more due to increased activity associated with breeding season. Investigations have shown deer-vehicle accidents occur more frequently on Sundays when no hunting is allowed than on Saturday (high hunter participation day) and one to four hours after dark, which is after hunting hours.
• Landowners who allow the use of their property without a fee are protected from liability.
• Typically, the removal of one adult doe during the hunting season equates to three less deer the following spring.
• All deer management programs require long-term maintenance.