The Population of white-tailed deer in Dartmouth, MA is higher than it has ever been.
White-tailed deer are native to our area and an important part of the landscape but currently their population is exploding due to a variety of conditions. As our largest wild herbivore, they consume great quantities of vegetation on a daily basis. They have become habituated to people and have moved into neighborhoods and farmlands where food is abundant.
Population Explosion - A single doe (female) typically has twin fawns every year. In her lifetime she could have more than 15 fawns. This rate of reproduction has evolved to maintain population stability for a prey species: an animal that is hunted by carnivores. In the balance of nature, most of a doe's offspring will feed local predators while two offspring will manage to survive and produce their own offspring, replacing their parents in that role. Without any large carnivores such as wolves, bear, or mountain lions in our region today, most fawns and young adults instead survive well into their adult years - and produce even more deer. The white-tailed deer population has grown too large.
Hunting - Indigenous peoples and early colonists relied on deer as a source of protein-rich meat, called venison. Humans remain as the white-tailed deer's last predator in our region following the extermination of large wild carnivores. Hunting had been an effective tool to manage local deer populations for two centuries. However, in recent decades, hunting has become less popular, the land open for hunting has diminished, and deer have moved closer to human neighborhoods. This has resulted in a steadily increasing size of the deer herd. To counter this problem and bring the population into balance with the habitat, current Mass Fish and Wildlife hunting regulations have expanded the hunting season. OurHerd serves to help the Commonwealth reach its goal by informing the public, providing resources, and connecting hunters and landowners to promote safe hunting practices as a form of environmental stewardship.
Impact on Farms - Our local farming community experiences significant crop losses from deer every year. An entire field of crops can be destroyed by deer in a single night. Control measures such as deer fencing and spraying deer repellents is time consuming and costly. The narrow margins of business viability make it difficult for farming to persist on a landscape with an overabundance of deer.
Population Explosion - A single doe (female) typically has twin fawns every year. In her lifetime she could have more than 15 fawns. This rate of reproduction has evolved to maintain population stability for a prey species: an animal that is hunted by carnivores. In the balance of nature, most of a doe's offspring will feed local predators while two offspring will manage to survive and produce their own offspring, replacing their parents in that role. Without any large carnivores such as wolves, bear, or mountain lions in our region today, most fawns and young adults instead survive well into their adult years - and produce even more deer. The white-tailed deer population has grown too large.
Hunting - Indigenous peoples and early colonists relied on deer as a source of protein-rich meat, called venison. Humans remain as the white-tailed deer's last predator in our region following the extermination of large wild carnivores. Hunting had been an effective tool to manage local deer populations for two centuries. However, in recent decades, hunting has become less popular, the land open for hunting has diminished, and deer have moved closer to human neighborhoods. This has resulted in a steadily increasing size of the deer herd. To counter this problem and bring the population into balance with the habitat, current Mass Fish and Wildlife hunting regulations have expanded the hunting season. OurHerd serves to help the Commonwealth reach its goal by informing the public, providing resources, and connecting hunters and landowners to promote safe hunting practices as a form of environmental stewardship.
Impact on Farms - Our local farming community experiences significant crop losses from deer every year. An entire field of crops can be destroyed by deer in a single night. Control measures such as deer fencing and spraying deer repellents is time consuming and costly. The narrow margins of business viability make it difficult for farming to persist on a landscape with an overabundance of deer.
Impact on our Environment - History has provided a number of examples that demonstrate how over-population of a species can cause harm to the environment. Many have seen the detrimental effects of novel species like Gypsy moth caterpillars, phragmites, and Japanese knot weed on our New England landscape. Even native species such as Canada Goose and Eastern Cottontail Rabbit cause negative impacts when their natural predators and behaviors are altered. Extremely high deer numbers are causing a similar and wide range of problems.
A recent survey on a Mass Audubon property in South Dartmouth found an average of 56 deer per square mile. A sustainable population falls between 9 and 18 deer per square mile: at 20 per square mile, negative ecological impacts become apparent. Such a significantly large population of deer is having a devastating effect on the well-being of the wildlife sanctuary. The forest understory of shrubs, wildflowers, and tree seedlings - all of which support many native birds, small mammals, pollinators and amphibians - has been degraded by browsing white-tailed deer. Deer selectively eat native plants within their reach which in turn reduces wildlife habitat quality and overall biodiversity. Deer are further imperiling forest recovery from repeated years of drought and invasive caterpillar damage because deer are eating the tree seedlings, the next-generation forest.
The overabundance of deer affects more than their natural forest habitat. Local deer damage to the quality of other natural resources, such as water and soil, remain to be measured. Deer are routinely observed on beaches, salt marshes, and open grasslands. There they consume sensitive vegetation as well as the eggs and nestlings of ground-nesting birds, including rare species. Similarly, deer have been spilling into neighborhoods, eating residential ornamental plants, vegetable gardens, and landscape installations. Landowners, gardeners, municipal and building site managers, and landscaping contractors are becoming frustrated by the costs and effort to address repeated attacks on plantings, many of which are designed to benefit a diversity of native wildlife.
Automobile Collisions - Statistics have shown a significant increase in deer and automobile collisions in the past decade. Insurance companies are raising rates to cover payouts. Costs to towns and services for police and medical response are being transferred to taxpayers and patients. The harm and expense to drivers and passengers from a deer collision can be life-altering.
Health Concerns - Deer harbor the deer tick which transmits Lyme disease, and other tick-borne illnesses. As deer habituate to our back yards, our chances of contracting tick-borne illnesses increase. There is evidence suggesting COVID-19 transmission between humans and deer. One study showed 12% of the sampled deer population of 11,000 tested positive for COVID, and a third of the population had antibodies from prior exposure. Research continues out of concern for new strains of COVID that could mutate within the deer population and possibly infect local human populations.
For more information and ways you can help, see our resources.
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A recent survey on a Mass Audubon property in South Dartmouth found an average of 56 deer per square mile. A sustainable population falls between 9 and 18 deer per square mile: at 20 per square mile, negative ecological impacts become apparent. Such a significantly large population of deer is having a devastating effect on the well-being of the wildlife sanctuary. The forest understory of shrubs, wildflowers, and tree seedlings - all of which support many native birds, small mammals, pollinators and amphibians - has been degraded by browsing white-tailed deer. Deer selectively eat native plants within their reach which in turn reduces wildlife habitat quality and overall biodiversity. Deer are further imperiling forest recovery from repeated years of drought and invasive caterpillar damage because deer are eating the tree seedlings, the next-generation forest.
The overabundance of deer affects more than their natural forest habitat. Local deer damage to the quality of other natural resources, such as water and soil, remain to be measured. Deer are routinely observed on beaches, salt marshes, and open grasslands. There they consume sensitive vegetation as well as the eggs and nestlings of ground-nesting birds, including rare species. Similarly, deer have been spilling into neighborhoods, eating residential ornamental plants, vegetable gardens, and landscape installations. Landowners, gardeners, municipal and building site managers, and landscaping contractors are becoming frustrated by the costs and effort to address repeated attacks on plantings, many of which are designed to benefit a diversity of native wildlife.
Automobile Collisions - Statistics have shown a significant increase in deer and automobile collisions in the past decade. Insurance companies are raising rates to cover payouts. Costs to towns and services for police and medical response are being transferred to taxpayers and patients. The harm and expense to drivers and passengers from a deer collision can be life-altering.
Health Concerns - Deer harbor the deer tick which transmits Lyme disease, and other tick-borne illnesses. As deer habituate to our back yards, our chances of contracting tick-borne illnesses increase. There is evidence suggesting COVID-19 transmission between humans and deer. One study showed 12% of the sampled deer population of 11,000 tested positive for COVID, and a third of the population had antibodies from prior exposure. Research continues out of concern for new strains of COVID that could mutate within the deer population and possibly infect local human populations.
For more information and ways you can help, see our resources.
Navigate using the white box on top left
