Since becoming established through Nova Scotia, the deer population has fluctuated greatly. Notable population peaks occurred in the 1950s and again in the mid 1980s. Deer populations declined following the peaks, due to the large population's pressure on habitat and the onset of more severe winters.

In the mid 1980s numbers reached 120,000 animals with hunter harvest in the vicinity of 66,000 animals. Then came the expected decline and by 1995 the population had dropped to about 42,000. Hunter harvest that year was just over 7,000 with a province-wide "buck law" in effect.

At that time there was a long standing practice to keep hunting regulations simple and the same across the province. However, because deer are not evenly distributed throughout the province, a management system that could more easily increase harvest, by area, in times of plenty, and reduce hunting pressure where and when appropriate, was introduced to better control deer numbers and provide more consistent hunting opportunity.

Deer Management Zones
Deer Management Zones were established in 1997. Several factors were used to determine the seven deer management zones across the province including; habitat, climate, natural predation, deer population, human population, and land use patterns. These zones provide a framework to manage the deer population based upon biological factors allowing biologists to establish deer harvest objectives specific to each zone. (Zone Map and Descriptions...)

Significant harvest pressure can be applied to antlered deer (breeding age males) without adversely affecting population growth. Research has shown that the most effective way to manage overall herd size is to increase the harvest of antlerless deer (does and fawns) when herd size reduction is desired and decrease the harvest of antlerless deer when herd growth is desired. Other factors such as predation, winter severity, disease, and habitat quality must also be considered when striving to meet these objectives.

Antlerless Deer Draw Introduced
Beginning in 1998, permits were issued for a limited number of does and fawns to be harvested from certain zones. The hunting of adult bucks (with antlers) continued to be permitted throughout the province. A lottery type system was introduced to fairly distribute the limited number of 'Antlerless Deer Hunting Stamps' or 'Doe Tags' amongst interested hunters. Each year the number of "Hunting Stamps" issued is determined using information on herd condition, age/sex structure and abundance of deer within each zone. Deer numbers have remained low in the two deep snow areas of the province - Zone 3 (Chignecto ) and Zone 7 (Cape Breton Highlands) and consequently, no antlerless permits have been issued for these areas. Any eligible resident hunter can apply by calling the 1-900-565-3337 application line which opens during the summer. The draw takes place in early September.

Equal opportunity to all eligible hunters is the cornerstone of the program

To date, the Antlerless Deer Draw Program has been a success. In the years to come it should be an effective system to maintain a more stable number of deer throughout the province and prevent the extreme highs and lows experienced in the past.

Antlerless Deer Draw Statistics
Since the introduction of zones and the antlerless deer draw, deer licence sales have steadily declined from about 57,000 to 38,420 in fall of 2005. Decline in hunter numbers is occurring across North America but here in Nova Scotia decline in deer licence sales has likely been further affected by declining deer numbers as a result of severe winter weather. The number of hunters applying for stamps annually has declined from a high of 35,561 in 2000, when 25,000 antlerless deer stamps were offered, to 22,515 in 2005 when only 5,000 antlerless stamps were available. In the first year it was unknown how many antlerless deer would be taken relative to the number of stamps issued. Some predicted there would be 100 percent success and 8,150 antlerless deer would be killed. The final figure was 2,799 antlerless deer registered, or only 34 per cent of the stamps used. A large number of antlerless deer were taken in the closing days of the season suggesting hunters with an antlerless stamp were trying to take a buck, but settled for a doe. Many were successful in taking a buck, others were unsuccessful in taking a deer at all. The system has worked well in that as the deer herd grew, between 1998 and 2000, an increasing number of antlerless stamps were issued. After the heavy snows of the winter of 2000-2001, biological data showed that up to 65 per cent of fawns, and 47 per cent of yearlings and adult bucks had starved. With the zone system it was possible to make adjustments (without going through the regulatory process) to reduce the number of stamps available for fall 2001.

The number of stamps used in 2001 was only 23 per cent of the number issued. These numbers are considered when determining how many stamps to issue the following year.