Deer hunters are having the best season on record in Arkansas.
THV-TV reported Thursday that deer hunters had harvested more than 212,000 deer so far this season, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC).
That number surpasses the old record of 194,192 set in the 1999-2000 season.
The AGFC says they have worked hard for a record deer season like this but favorable weather was one of the contributing factors.
With a lack of rainy weather days, the record was already broken by Christmas Day, when a significant winter storm dumped heavy snow across portions of the state.
Steve "Wildman" Wilson with the AGFC said the commission began deer restoration projects in the state 90 years ago to improve deer habitat.
"Food, water and shelter and if all animals, deer especially, if you have the right type of habitat that means they're going to be healthy and they're going to reproduce more, and you have more for the hunters to hunt," Wilson explained.
The AGFC said that has contributed to an abundance of deer in the state, and limits and season dates are more liberal in Arkansas than ever before.
The modern gun and muzzle-loader hunts are finished, but archery hunting has several more weeks to run through Feb. 28.
There is estimated to be over 300,000 licensed deer hunters in the state of Arkansas.
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