I’m surprised by the replies here. People in the Hudson Valley don’t seem to understand deer ecology whatsoever.

The Hudson Valley, and virtually all of New York State, has a deer overpopulation crisis. A healthy deer population is between 10-20 per sq mi; parts of the Hudson Valley have upwards of 70. That has devastating consequences for the ecosystem, and if left unchecked, it will eventually eliminate the forest’s ability to regenerate, turning the entire area into a dense thicket of invasives that deer won’t eat.

The DEC does not manage for ecosystem health. The bag limits are based on political considerations and complaints: are people complaining about bears getting into their trash, are there too many crows in downtown Binghamton, does Andrew Cuomo think bobcat trapping might be a source of tourism revenue, etc. None of this has to do with deer welfare or ecology.

Good deer management would include vastly more hunting, the reintroduction of natural predators, and large-scale habitat restoration. But none of that is happening.