Waupaca to allow bowhunting of anterless deer
By James Card
The city council unanimously approved a citywide deer hunt for 2022 during their meeting on Jan. 4.
“Ironically, I was on the phone with one of our residents last night and I almost hit deer while I was on the phone with them – in the city,” said City Administrator Aaron Jensen.
This is the fourth urban deer hunt the city has approved and organized.
Jensen said the hunt originated from resident complaints of deer damaging landscaped plants within the city limits and also from police data showing increased deer and auto collisions.
The hunt is archery-only and only antlerless deer are killed. It is managed by streets supervision Roger Hansen and he works with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to ensure all hunting regulations are followed.
The hunt will be from Jan. 10 to March 31.
Hunters will be assigned specific locations, including the airport, the recycling center, cemetery, Well 2, the Waupaca County Club and some private land.
Hunters can sign up on the city website and must have a valid archery license. They also must buy a $10 bow discharge permit from the police department and a background check will be done for all hunters.
There will be 20 deer tags at first and there is a possibility more may be issued.
Hunters are responsible for processing the venison from their deer.
As of Jan. 5, data from Wisconsin DNR shows that hunters in Waupaca County killed a total of 9,179 deer and 4,758 were antlerless. The county ranked third in the state behind Marathon (10,485) and Shawano (9,638).
By comparison, the entire state of Connecticut harvested 7,019 deer during their 2021 archery and firearm seasons.