SALEM, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife recently announced it will restrict white-tailed deer hunting in southeastern Ohio counties hit hard by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease.
This includes restricting bag limits from three to two deer per license year in Athens, Meigs and Washington counties — where the EHD outbreak is most heavily concentrated.
Other counties that already had a two-deer bag limit include Defiance, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Paulding, Vinton and Warren counties. These limits will be in place starting Dec. 1, the start of gun season, which runs from Dec. 1-7.
ODNR will hold a public hearing for the new rule change on Oct. 22. Interested parties can submit written comments online now until Oct. 16.
The restrictions are a result of what the Division of Wildlife recently called the most significant outbreak of EHD in the state logged to date. EHD is a disease spread by infected midges that damages deer’s blood vessels and causes internal hemorrhaging. Humans cannot contract EHD.
As of Sept. 15, ODNR has confirmed 7,486 dead or sick deer with EHD in the state. This includes 1,631 in Athens, 1,303 in Meigs and 1,850 in Washington counties.
For more information, visit https://ohiodnr.gov/rules-and-regulations/rule-changes/proposed-rule-changes/wildlife-proposed-rules.
Your reduction in bag limits for deer is absurd! Deer season should be canceled for S.E. Ohio. The deer kill has been unreal and you want to kill more??? How does that make any sense? If deer get this same disease next year they will be extinct in S.E. Ohio and you will be the reason. Save what we have now while you still can!!!!
I agree. They changed bag limits in Indiana because they had it bad. We have it up in north central Ohio too. We lost 8 deer on one farm that we know of. I do not like how the DNR is taking care of the deer herd. Too much politics and way to much insurance company involvement.
Noble county should also be in the same place as Washington and Athens/meigs co. We have found multiple deer while hunting opening day in noble county please include noble just driving the back roads you can smell them thanks