Antler Regulation Effects on White-tailed Deer on Mississippi Public Hunting Areas
Antler restrictions, intended to protect younger, male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from harvest and increase harvest of older bucks, are prevalent throughout the Southeast. Mississippi's statewide regulation, initiated in 1995, protects bucks with less than four antler points. We quantified the regulation's effects on age composition, harvest rate, and antler size by analyzing harvest data collected prior to (1991-1994) and after (1997-2001) the regulation was initiated on 22 public areas encompassing 240,000 ha. Relative composition of harvest shifted (P<0.001) from 59%...
