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Fairfax County reports 752 deer harvested in fiscal 2026; program donations exceed 2,600 over decade
Summary
County staff said the fiscal‑2026 deer program harvest totaled 752 deer (about 91% from archery, 66 from sharpshooting), with roughly 2,634 deer donated over the past 10 years, supporting food banks and charitable organizations.
Catherine Edwards presented harvest totals for the most recent season and historical program contributions. She said the total program harvest for the fiscal 2026 deer management program was 752 deer, with 686 taken through the archery program and 66 taken via Fairfax County Police Department sharpshooting operations; the program's non‑recovery rate was reported at 11 percent.
Edwards showed that archery accounted for roughly 91 percent of last season’s total harvest, and that approximately 65 percent of harvests were antlerless (including does and button bucks). She said disposition of harvested deer was primarily hunter‑kept (about 82 percent), with smaller shares donated to family/friends, Hunters for the Hungry (about 6 percent) and park neighbors. Over the past ten years, staff reported 2,634 deer donated through the county program, a conservative estimate equal to about 79,000 pounds of venison donated to local food assistance efforts.
