Nearly 1,000 Deer Killed During Record-Breaking Hunting Season On Nantucket

Nantucket is one deer away from its first-ever four-digit deer hunt. With the expanded winter deer hunting season now finished, the total number of deer killed sits at 999.

“We will definitely break it once you factor in the deer damage permits,” state deer and moose biologist Martin Feehan told the Current, referring to ongoing efforts by island organizations like the Nantucket Land Bank to acquire special state permits that would allow deer to be hunted out of season on certain parcels of land.

Already, 999 deer is a record for the hunting season on Nantucket, shattering the previous mark of 879. The main reason for the increase is the significantly expanded winter deer hunting season. During the new, expanded winter season, 158 deer were taken.

“It made all the difference,” Feehan said. “I think it shows that there is a lot of demand that time of year for hunting.”

Feehan said that there were hunters coming from across New England to take advantage of the expanded season. Feehan has been at the head of the state’s wide-reaching efforts to increase the number of deer taken on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, which both have deer concentrations well above the level the state deems healthy.

In the last several years, the state has extended the deer hunting season on the island twice, created the deer damage permit program, and incentivized deer donation, among other programs.

“My hope, going into this, was we would combine on the islands for 300 deer, and we combined for 329,” Feehan said.

Efforts to increase the deer hunt on Nantucket have moved quickly in the last year, with a collection of local organizations including the Land Bank, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, and the ACK Deer Management Project, collaborating to encourage further hunting and create more opportunities.

“I really think this is a case of really incredible collaboration between partners,” Feehan said. “This is kind of the best of government."

Feehan also spoke positively of expanded efforts to process deer for the Hunters Share the Harvest program, a state initiative that allows hunters to donate exceed venison to licensed processors, who can then distribute it to people who are food insecure. The Land Bank recently opened an agricultural processing center on island, which has processed 59 deer for the program so far. Feehan said that he believes the program could continue to grow in the future.

Despite the elevated take, the deer harvest is still short of the level needed to significantly reduce the island’s deer population, once births are taken into account.

“It is certainly the case that this is only the start, and we will have to continue to develop new strategies,” Feehan said.