This will probably be Vermont’s last moose hunt, as they cut permits to the lowest number in the modern era.
Vermont Director of Wildlife Mark Scott told Associated Press reporter Wilson Ring that the department will issue only 14 permits, and if the moose population continues to decline, this is likely to be the last time for moose hunting in that state.
Vermont started hunting moose in 1993, with a gradual increase to a high of 1251 permits in 2007 and 2008.
The decline in Vermont’s moose population is blamed on warmer weather that has increased the ticks and brain worms that are killing moose. The state’s moose population is now estimated to be just 2000. Last year the state issued 80 moose hunting permits.
Ten of this year’s permits will go to rifle hunters and four to archery hunters, and those hunters will be limited to just two wildlife management zones in northeastern Vermont.