Red deer population and harvest changes in Europe

Abstract

Red deer is one of the most abundant cervid species occurring in most of Europe. It has an increasing economic, cultural and ecological importance. Therefore red deer research programs are essential for sustainable use of this species. Our purpose was to analyze the changes of red deer population and harvest in Europe on the basis of available game management information. For this study we used published data for 1984 and the early 2000s. During these two decades the reported red deer numbers (spring population) increased from 1.1 million to 1.7 million and hunting bag from 275 thousand to 429 thousand individuals. The population size (density) and hunting bag of red deer increased over nearly all Europe, except for the south-eastern part of the continent.