There are still hunters alive today who remember a time when whitetail populations were so low that access to decent hunting seemed nonexistent in some areas. Simply laying eyes on a deer was considered a good hunt, and harvesting a large one was a rare feat. Today’s national deer population is so dense that younger hunters simply take it for granted. The population was able to recover and now provides incredible access to deer hunting nation wide because the last generation adopted responsible hunting and conservation practices.
In order to maintain the incredibly bounty to which today’s hunters have become accustom, many states have adopted a mandatory deer check policy. With the advent of smartphones, some states have created DNR apps that allow hunters to check in game directly from the field (assuming they have a signal). Alabama has joined the growing ranks of states that make game check mandatory for deer and turkey hunters. While game check policies are nothing new, natural resource departments noticed low participation when the programs were optional. Post-season mail surveys attempted to solve the problem, but was met with similar low participation rates.
The Department of Natural resources asks that all responsible hunters do their part to help manage and maintain current wildlife populations to continue ample hunting opportunities for many generations to come. They hope that making game check mandatory will provide more accurate measurements of population density.