A total of 124,427 deer were legally harvested In Indiana last year, which ranks the 2007 season as No. 3 all time. This harvest number was down only slightly from the 125,381 deer harvested during 2006, which ranks as the overall No. 2 total season harvest figure.

Steuben is again the top harvest county tallying 3,754 deer, followed by Switzerland County's total of 3,259, and Kosciusko County's total of 3,003. The number of deer harvested in individual counties ranges from 134 in Benton County to 3,754 in Steuben County. Harvest exceeded 1,000 deer in 62 counties, 2,000 deer in 16 counties and 3,000 deer in three counties.

The antlered deer harvest of 49,375 was up just slightly from the 49,097 taken the previous year. The number of adult (as determined by the Department of Natural Resources) does harvested was 44,514, down only slightly from the 45,257 does taken in 2006.

The age and sex structure of the 2007 deer harvest was 40 percent antlered bucks, 36 percent does, 11 percent button bucks and 14 percent female fawns. About 44 percent of the antlered bucks and 38 percent of the adult does harvested during 2007 were yearlings of 1 1/2 years old.

The antlered buck harvest exceeded 1,000 in five counties compared with four in 2006, while the antlerless harvest exceeded 1,000 deer in 25 counties compared with 27 in 2006. Antlerless deer comprised at least 50 percent of the total harvest in 87 counties of the state's 92 counties in 2007 compared with 89 counties in 2006. The only counties not having 50 percent of the harvest consisting of antlerless deer were Benton, Boone, Marion, Sullivan and Tipton counties. (Continued)

Once again, a widespread outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) -- perhaps the worst in state history -- was reported in Indiana. The EHD outbreak struck primarily the southern half of the state, but reports were received throughout the entire state. Deer tested positive for the disease as far north as Wabash County, and deer were also suspected of having the disease as far north as LaGrange County.

Nineteen additional counties were suspected of having EHD, based on hoof sloughing observed at check stations the opening weekend of the firearms season. In all, EHD was reported or confirmed in the free-ranging deer herd in 59 counties in Indiana in 2007.

Counties most affected were those in the southwestern corner of the state, consisting of Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Perry, Pike, Spencer and Warrick counties. These counties all experienced reduced antlered harvests from 2006 of at least 20 percent, with Pike County experiencing a 40 percent decrease, the highest decrease of any county.

The Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) in Athens, Georgia, has confirmed the presence of EHD in deer found dead in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Pike, Posey and Warrick counties. It is the second straight year Indiana has been hit with the disease.