Deer
Human Health Risk
Ecological Risk
Socioeconomic Risk
M
M-H
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have the ability to rapidly increase their numbers, particularly in suburban areas where public parks can act as deer refuges, hunting is
reduced and there is a lack of natural predators. Overabundance of deer can lead to
agricultural damage, deer/vehicle collisions, increased incidence of Lyme disease, and
damage to natural ecosystems. Statewide, the number of deer has increased to 200,000,
more than double the population twenty years ago.
What’s at risk?
Humans are at risk from auto collisions and Lyme
disease (see separate summary). Also particularly at
risk are hardwood seedlings, agricultural crops,
suburban shrubbery, and plant communities in
forested areas.
STRESSOR SUMMARIES
What are the ecological impacts in New
Jersey?
Ecological effects from deer overpopulation
include changes in diversity among plant species.
Deer are selective browsers and prefer young
woody plants, such as hardwood seedlings. Researchers indicate that once the density of 20 deer
per square mile is reached for several years, noticeable changes in native plant communities occur.
This threatens to reduce bird and mammal breeding habitat, and may change long term forest health
and biodiversity.
What are the socioeconomic impacts in
New Jersey?
20,000 times per year. Agricultural losses alone are
estimated at $20 million to $40 million annually.
New Jersey has one of the highest rates of Lyme
disease in the country, with 1722 cases in 1999. The
estimated cost of Lyme disease to New Jersey is
approximately $75 million per year. No cost has
been estimated for the psychological effects of
severe disability caused by untreated cases. The
total cost of deer overpopulation is estimated at
$120 to $160 million. Other impacts include
conflict over deer control strategies, and the
possible long-term aesthetic and forestry employment effects of damaged tree seedlings. (Note:
socioeconomic analysis combined “deer” and
“Lyme disease” impacts.)
What’s being done?
Intensive management of the state’s deer herd is
being undertaken, primarily through sport hunting
and issuance of deer predation permits to farmers.
Experimental deer management programs have
also been implemented.
Impacts include economic losses suffered from
Lyme disease, loss of crops, reduced property
values from damaged landscaping, replacement
costs of landscaping, and auto collision costs.
Passenger vehicles collide with deer approximately
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Final Report of the New Jersey State Comparative Risk Project