The Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) announced Friday that hunters harvested 145,433 deer in Kentucky during the 2025-26 season, the fifth-highest reported total in history and 3,000 above the 10-year average.
The recently completed 136-day season was noteworthy for a newly expanded October youth-only season, impressive success of hunters on public land, and a high percentage of harvested bucks estimated to be 2½ years old or older. However, doe harvest goals, aimed at maintaining a healthy and quality herd, were not met.
“In many ways, it was a great deer season – almost 105,000 hunters were successful in taking at least one deer, walking away with meat in the freezer, some with a rack for the wall and all stories to tell friends and family,” said Joe McDermott, KDFWR deer program coordinator. “We are looking to substantially increase the female harvest over time.”
This year, KDFWR set doe harvest goals for Zone 1 and Zone 2 counties, but only one county – Simpson – met its goal. Eleven other counties met 80 to 90 percent of the department’s goals.
McDermott said wildlife officials are discussing ways to increase doe harvest. More than 20 counties are expected to be reassigned to different zones to encourage more doe harvest in the 2026-27 deer season.
An overabundance of deer can result in increased deer-vehicle collisions and damage to agricultural crops and expensive landscaping. It can also increase the spread of tick-born and other diseases and lead to smaller body sizes and antlers due to competition for food.
“When there are fewer deer on the landscape, the remaining animals are better able to reach their full potential,” McDermott stated.
Of the 104,595 successful deer hunters, 74 percent took only one deer, less than 43 percent took a doe and less than 3 percent filled their standard four-deer permit allotment, said Tommy Apostolopoulos, deer program biologist.
As a reminder, hunters who take more deer than they need can donate a deer to Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry or Boone Brothers, two organizations working together to fight food insecurity.
(Photo courtesy of Kentucky Today)
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
