Why It Matters: Mississippi was the first state in the nation to implement a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). Their DMAP program went statewide in the 1980s, which became wildly successful and has resulted in Mississippi having one of the most robust white-tailed deer herds in the country. Ironically enough, Mississippi is the only state in the nation that does not have a mandatory hunter harvest reporting structure.
Highlights:
- In 2025, HB 816 was introduced by Mississippi Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Representative Ken Morgan and would have directed the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to develop and implement a mandatory harvest reporting program for white-tailed deer.
- HB 816 passed the Mississippi House of Representatives on a vote of 79-29, showcasing strong, bipartisan support.
- HB 816 stalled in the Senate Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Committee.
There is no shortage of white-tailed deer in the Magnolia State. With approximately 33 deer per square mile, Mississippi has the highest estimated white-tailed deer density in the Southeast. Whether you’re sitting in a deer stand in December during the rut or driving down the highway, more times than not, you’re going to encounter deer.
One of the key tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is science-based decision-making. The mission of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is to effectively manage wildlife resources throughout the state, utilizing the best available science. However, if MDWFP does not know how many deer are being taken by hunters each deer season, how can we expect them to effectively set bag limits, seasons, etc.?
What I like to tell people outside the State of Mississippi is that for each tree that’s on a piece of property, there’s a deer. I live on a parcel of land in the middle of well well-populated municipal area, and I border a 5-acre lot that has a scope of woods running through it. At any given time, I can look out my office window and see 5-10 deer at a time. When you drive down the road in this state, you always see multiple deer that have expired due to vehicle collisions, which has caused Mississippi to remain in the top ten of states with the highest rates of vehicle/deer collisions.
Hunting is the preferred wildlife management tool for the state, as it’s the most effective method of regulating populations of game species, but how do we know how effective it is if we don’t know exactly how many deer are being taken?
The argument for mandatory harvest reporting of hunter-harvested deer is not because there is a fear over declining deer populations in the state – it’s for science-backed decision-making that can help design accurate bag limits and season structures to encourage hunters to take more deer. Mississippi already has mandatory harvest reporting of turkeys, which is easily done over the phone or online. Deer would be no different. There’s no additional cost on the hunter, there’s no paper tag requirement, and there’s only additional data to support a game species that makes up the very fabric of the hunting culture in Mississippi.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) will continue to work with and support the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, as well as the Mississippi Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, to implement harvest reporting of white-tailed deer in Mississippi.
