American Hunter – August 2019

firstlight

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Florida hunters need to be aware of two new hunting regulation
changes for the 2019–2020 deer season: The implementation of
a statewide bag limit on deer and a mandatory reporting require-
ment for all harvested deer.
The state’s new annual deer bag limit is set at
five deer and allows only two of those five deer
to be antlerless. The new bag limit applies to all
hunters, including those who are exempt from
hunting licenses and permit requirements, and
includes the combined total of all deer taken
on private and public lands. Youth hunters’ bag
limits can also now include one antlered deer
that doesn’t meet the state’s deer management
unit antler regulations.
The antlerless deer permit program, the deer
depredation program and the private lands deer
management program are exempt from the new
bag-limit rule.
“This adaptive approach to deer management is intended to
improve hunting opportunities by encouraging harvest among
more hunters as well as greater selectivity, while helping main-
tain a healthy and reasonably balanced deer herd,” explained Cory
Morea, Florida’s deer management program coordinator.

Prior to the regulation change, Florida was the only state in the

Southeast without a specified annual bag limit for deer.

The other regulation requires all hunters, regardless of age and

license type, to report all deer killed and enter

specific information in their harvest logs before

moving any deer from the point of harvest.

This includes deer killed on private property.

Log information must then be reported to the

FWC’s harvest reporting system within 24 hours

of harvesting. Harvest log information must be

submitted before the final processing of the deer

or any parts of it are transferred to a proces-

sor or a taxidermist, or before the deer leaves

the state. Deer taken with depredation permits,

from a game farm or from a licensed hunting

preserve are the only exceptions.

“A harvest reporting system will foster bag

limit compliance and give the FWC another

source of deer harvest data,” Morea said.

The new rules go into effect statewide Aug. 3. Possession limits

and daily bag limits are still in effect and hunters are encouraged

to check with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com-

mission for specific regulation guidelines and details.

Florida Institutes First Annual Deer Bag Limit

Photo: Erik A. Ruf / RufCountryImages.com

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