Deer, Deer Hunting Has Multi-Billion Impact on Economy, Jobs

Economic Impact

According to the report, in a typical year, deer hunters in the southeast spend about $8.8 billion on deer hunting.

That money is used to buy items like firearms, ammunition, camping equipment, fuel for vehicles and on expenses like lodging, hunting licenses and meals at restaurants.

The report says with the multiplier effect, with the businesses hunters’ support buying from other businesses, deer hunting has an impact of about $15.8 billion.

Deer hunting in the southeast supports an estimated 209,000 jobs with about $5.5 billion in salaries and wages. Those jobs contribute an estimated $2.1 billion in local, state and federal taxes.

That includes a statewide high of $852 million in salaries and wages in Texas.

Deer hunting is also important to some people’s personal finances.

For example, landowners who lease their property to deer hunters make extra income they may otherwise not see.

Hunters who bag a deer and use that venison may not need to spend as much at the meat counter.

According to the report, about half of hunters said saving money in a bad economy had influence on their decision to hunt.

The report also indicates that hunting participation tends to increase during economic downturns.

Agriculture

Deer hunting can also help reduce an overpopulation of deer in an area, which may lead to a decrease in damage to crops.

According to the partnership’s dataset, deer damage to agriculture in the United States was at least $593 million per year between 2015 and 2019.

The damages may be higher, though, as that number only includes damages to corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton.

Habitat and wildlife management

An over-abundance of deer in an area can also lead to over-browsing, which may have a negative impact on forest and habitat regenerations, can harm at-risk plant species and can encourage the growth of invasive plants.

The impact of that can then harm other species, especially those that are at-risk of being threatened or endangered.

The report indicates that by helping to manage the deer population, landowners and managers can prevent some of this damage or allow a damaged area to begin the recovery process.

Private landowners, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, hunters and others all invest money each year into improving deer habitat, which may in turn help other game and non-game species.

For example, deer hunters in the southeast spent $183 million in 2020 on plantings and food plots that attracted deer and other species.

In 2020, Texas deer hunters spent $14.84 million on plantings and food plots, according to Southwick Associates.

Hunters also support state conservation efforts when buying hunting and fishing licenses.

Control of disease

The report also examines the economic impact of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

CWD, according to the report, costs wildlife agencies in the U.S. millions of dollars per year.

In the southeast, it’s estimated that agencies spend about $3.97 million annually on CWD testing.

One study found that agencies from 41 states tested 175,478 deer samples in 2018 alone.

Deer hunters play an important role in the detection and monitoring of diseases like CWD.

As hunters submit their deer carcasses to be tested, it gives state wildlife officials a better idea of the spread of the disease so it may be better managed to protect native deer populations.

The report also indicates that CWD dampens hunter participation, which could reduce how much hunters spend in a particular area each year.

Studies also reveal CWD can impact property values. The report cites a discussion on a bowhunter website where hunters responded they wouldn’t feel comfortable harvesting deer that could potentially carry CWD and would probably not buy land in an area if they were hoping to gain future income from hunting.

“I don’t own hunting [land], but I do share a couple of leases. If CWD comes to town, we will drop out in a heart beat without a thought. Just the way it is,” the report cites.

Health and wellness

The study also included how deer hunting may impact individuals.

It says outdoor activities like hunting act as a natural antidepressant, lower blood pressure and resting heart rate, reduce stress and increase vitamin D uptake.

Overall goal

While the report includes a lot of valuable data, it’s all part of an overall effort to engage non-hunters and share the benefits of deer and deer hunting.

“We certainly knew that deer were important, not just for management or hunting in those states, but to all wildlife management programs because hunters fund the lion’s share of the state wildlife agency budgets,” Adams said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “Because deer hunters far outnumber all the other species, deer hunters drive the system. Deer are the most sought-after game animal.”

The goal of the project is to find out the role deer hunting plays in the economy, society and in conservation and share that information.

A public relations campaign is in the works.

“A big piece of this is to make sure we can share information with non-hunters about the value of deer,” Adams said. “Only 4 to 5% of our population buys a hunting license, but there are a lot of other people out there that value wildlife. A lot of people love to watch birds. They like non-game species. So, most of those people just simply are not aware of the value to deer for managing the habitat for those other species.”

A full-length documentary on the benefit of deer is also on the horizon.

“Beginning next year, when we move into phase three and start this PR campaign on the value of deer and hunters, we will have film premieres in many of the partner states to highlight the documentary on all of the good that deer and deer hunters provide,” Adams said.