Due to an overabundance of deer, hunters will be allowed to hunt in Panola Mountain State Park, officials said Wednesday.
About 40 hunters chosen by a lottery process will take part in the hunt Nov. 13 and 14, said Eric Van De Genachte with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The 1,635-acre park near Stockbridge contains about 60 deer per square mile, which would equal about 150 animals. Wildlife officials recommend a deer population of 15 to 20 deer per square mile.
Last year, a similar hunt thinned the herd by 31 animals.
Wildlife officials say two highways near the park, including Ga. 155, consistently rank among the highest in collisions between deer and cars.
Cpl. Eric Sanders with the DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division said there are so many deer in the park they are destroying vegetation deer normally don’t consume.
“There’s no natural predators and the park’s been protected [from hunting] since Moses,” said Sanders, adding that overcrowding can lead to diseases in the deer population.
Hunters will be allowed to bag two deer that won’t count towards the season limit of 12, said Sanders.
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