PIERRE – The recent crop harvest activity brought reports of dead deer in Sanborn County in southeastern South Dakota. As a result, the Game, Fish and Parks Department eliminated all remaining unsold deer hunting permits.
All “any deer” licenses for Sanborn County sold out in the original drawing, but 132 antlerless permits still remained. These remaining licenses have now been eliminated.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) was suspected as the cause of the deaths, although the deer had been dead too long to be confirmed through laboratory testing. EHD was responsible for a larger-scale deer die-off a year ago, primarily in southeastern and south central counties. GFP will continue to monitor any deer die-offs through observations by field staff and reports from the public.