A deer runs after hearing a shotgun blast at Bucks County Community College near the border with the park.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Just under 100 deer were killed during Tyler State Park’s annual shotgun hunt Wednesday.
The 150 permitted hunters that fanned out through the 1,700-acre park reported killing 98 deer, Tyler State Park Manager Brian Flores told the Bucks County Courier Times.
One of the hunters told NewtownPANow.com the hunt lasted from the morning until mid-afternoon.
The 150 hunters were picked through a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lottery drawing. The hunters were able to kill both antlered and antlerless deer in the park’s Newtown Township and Northampton portions.
Park rangers block to the entrance to the park.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
The hunt, which was held for the 29th time, is held to help control the deer population and reduce the strain of the park ecosystem.
As of sunrise, there were no protestors outside any of the park’s main entrances.
Officials said a antler and antlerless archery hunt is scheduled to run from December 26 to January 28 at a 500-acre portion of the state park. In total, 60 permits for the archery hunt were issues with only 12 hunters authorized per day.
