N.B. DNR says mild winter will increase deer population

Another mild winter in southern New Brunswick will increase this year’s deer population further, according to the province’s Department of Natural Resources.

The latest provincial deer count from last summer found about 155,000 deer in New Brunswick.

Joe Kennedy, a deer biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, says modelling suggests a six to seven per cent increase from conditions this past winter.

“Winters have a large influence on deer numbers in New Brunswick,” says Kennedy. “In southern New Brunswick, with the milder winters, we’ve seen improved survival so deer populations have been growing steadily really over the last eight years.”

Kennedy says about five per cent less snow fell in southern parts of New Brunswick this past winter when compared to the 30-year long-term average. Kennedy says other parts of the province were around average.

“We’re definitely seeing trends in southern New Brunswick with milder winters and less snow,” he says. “But in northern New Brunswick we’re not seeing that same trend.”

In 2019, the province reported a deer population of about 73,000.