number 1 for sure is cwd. the numbers were fine until a few years ago when the cwd issue came up. mature buck numbers have been down for much longer for reasons already mentioned, but for total population being down now thats why. government culling has not stopped, it has just changed. the publicity from the huge pit of dead headless carcasses going to waste put an end to bio's shooting from the sky. funding was pulled and now hunters are being used as the new generation of hired guns. not all zones down south have low populations either. some still have plenty of deer. like i said though, if the rumors i have been hearing come to reality, every mule buck in this province will be considered a liability.
i better clarify...cwd is not killing deer...it is a few misinformed biologists doling out a ton of extra tags that is causing the decline.
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