Hunting in the Plzeň Region: record roe deer and fallow deer kills

Hunters in the Plzeň Region shot a record number of roe deer and fallow deer over the past year, statisticians report. Among other furred game, the figures are also some of the highest in a decade.

Where hunting grew the most

The biggest annual rise was in hares, up 63 percent to 156 animals. Fallow deer kills were also exceptional: 7,500 animals, 12 percent more than a year earlier. Hunters took 1,600 mouflon (up 6.6 percent) and 10,000 roe deer (up 2.1 percent).

Last season, 28,400 head of black game, meaning wild boar, were shot: 16 percent more than a year earlier and the second-highest result in a decade. In 2019 the figure was 30,000.

Population and feathered game

As of March 31, statisticians recorded the highest fallow deer population in ten years, at 8,200 animals, along with 3,400 mouflon, 11,500 wild boar and 14,300 hares. The growth in fallow deer is especially striking: 70 percent compared with 2015. The spring roe deer population peaked in 2023 at 28,600 animals, then fell to 28,300 in March.

Hunters took nine percent fewer wild ducks than a year earlier, but at 58,100 that is still the fourth-highest result in a decade. They shot 10,300 pheasants, four percent fewer than a year earlier and 46 percent fewer than in 2015. Pheasants are at their lowest level in ten years: in March there were 4,800, a tenth fewer than a year ago. The wild duck population dipped slightly to 8,400.

At the end of March, almost 83,000 animals of the selected game species were registered in the Plzeň Region, which is 8.2 percent of the national total and fifth place among regions. Furred game outnumbers feathered game (84 percent), and its share rose by one percentage point over the year. Roe deer account for the most, more than a third, with hares (more than 17 percent) and black game (almost 14 percent) making up a notable share. Among feathered game, wild ducks dominate, with a share above ten percent.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz