Hunters may report white-tailed deer harvest online this year

November 13, 2020  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

Photo courtesy of Vermont Fish & Wildlife.

Vermont’s white-tailed deer rifle hunting season opens Saturday, Nov. 14, running through Nov. 29 and the state Fish & Wildlife Department has set up an online reporting option for hunters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The option will allow hunters to record their harvest and send information to the state without needing to go to a reporting station. 

Those wishing to report in person as usual may still use the reporting stations where public health precautions given the COVID-19 virus will be in place. Hunters will be asked to be mindful of distancing, to wear a mask when around others, wash hands, etc. 

The online option involves uploading photos using a form on the Fish & Wildlife website that collects pertinent details on the animal, the location of the kill and the hunter’s identification.

There are numerous new regulations regarding white-tailed deer seasons this year including a new limit of one legal buck per hunter.  

Hunters are also asked to remove and send into wildlife biologists an incisor tooth from their buck for data collection used in wildlife management. Those who report in person may turn in a tooth at that time. Those reporting online may send it by mail. 

Details on new regulations, the online reporting option, in-person reporting station locations, etc. are on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s website.