PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife believes poachers are killing as many mule deer as legal hunters.
The Oregonian reports that’s one reason the mule deer population in the state has dropped to 216,000 animals from historic peaks of more than 300,000.
State biologists discovered the level of poaching during a five-year research study of deer between Bend and the California border.
Research supervisor DeWayne Jackson in Roseburg says poachers typically kill female deer, which are more important to reproduction. Licensed hunters kill more bucks than does.
