Ohio hunters weigh in on EHD concerns as officials propose bag limit change in three counties

Athens, Ohio – A possibly record crowd of more than 100 people attended a special meeting of the Ohio Wildlife Council in this southeastern city on Sept. 17 to hear how state wildlife authorities intend to deal with an unprecedented outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in the area.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife introduced a proposed change to the state hunting rules that would reduce the bag limit for white-tailed deer from three to two in Athens, Meigs, and Washington counties beginning Dec. 1, and running until Feb. 1, 2026. 

Bag limits for the remainder of the state remain unchanged.

The rationale behind the proposal is a reduced bag limit to protect the remaining deer by reducing the harvest and speed up the recovery of deer numbers. Fewer does result in more resources (food, habitat) for the remaining deer. More resources lead to better overall health for the remaining deer, a Division of Wildlife spokesperson said.

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Athens, Meigs, and Washington counties are the center of the EHD outbreak. As of Sept. 15, the three had reported a total of 4,784 cases, according to Division of Wildlife deer biologist Clint McCoy. 

“It’s the most significant, widespread mortality event that I have seen since I began my career with the Ohio Division of Wildlife in 2014,” McCoy said.

To begin the Sept. 17 meeting, McCoy presented an oversight and history of EHD – especially its presence in Ohio. Some years have seen minimal cases of the disease while others have seen widespread outbreaks. It is largely weather dependent, he said.

The disease migrated from the southern states, where deer have a long-standing immunity, as it grew generally warmer in the north, McCoy added. 

The virus is spread by small flies (midges) that hang around standing and stagnant water and bite deer. A warm spring leads to heavy hatches of the bug. That, followed by a rainy July then a dry August, created ideal conditions for midges to spread the disease, McCoy told the crowd.

Support for reduced bag limits

The proposed bag reduction appeared to draw widespread interest and support among those who attended the meeting. Among the dozen or so attendees who spoke during the public comment portion were local hunters, landowners, an economic development director, a taxidermist, and an area veterinarian. In many instances, their comments drew applause from the crowd.

One landowner asked for hunting in the three counties be halted altogether during the coming season. Another wanted to ban the killing of does.

Rick Kroner, the area veterinarian, asked why DOW biologists have not looked into the reason some deer appear to have a natural immunity to EHD and why there is not more widespread testing for the disease.

McCoy said testing is only done to confirm the presence of EHD in a county. 

“Once a county is confirmed, we no longer pursue testing of dead/sick deer as it is relatively safe to assume that large mortality events at this time of year are indicative of EHD,” he noted.

The division is currently working with Ohio State University to develop a procedure for testing hunter-harvested deer for exposure to the disease (via antibodies). The division hopes to have that test available for the upcoming deer hunting season. 

Public comments on the recent proposal will be accepted online until Thursday, Oct. 16.