The Ohio Wildlife Council approved 2025-26 hunting and trapping seasons for white-tailed deer, migratory birds, small game, and furbearers during its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
A total of 23 deer taken by hunters in Allen, Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties tested positive for CWD. Those counties were designated as disease surveillance areas by the Division of Wildlife.
November 21, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife: COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s weeklong deer gun hunting season begins Monday, Dec. 2, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The gun season traditionally begins the Monday after Thanksgiving, is open to all hunters, and runs until Sunday, Dec. 8. An additional deer gun weekend follows on Dec. 21-22. Ohio’s first deer gun season was in 1943, and excitement has remained high for white-tailed deer hunting ever since. Deer gun harvest totals are typically highest in eastern Ohio. Coshocton (2,440), Tuscarawas (2,260), Ashtabula (2,189), Muskingum (2,076), and Knox (1,878) counties led the state during the 2023 seven-day gun season.
September 12, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources: COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hunters in Ohio have additional dates this season to pursue white-tailed deer in Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance areas, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. For the 2024-25 season, the disease surveillance area includes all of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties as well as Auglaize and Jackson townships in Allen County. The Division of Wildlife established earlier hunting seasons within the disease surveillance area to slow the spread of CWD by reducing deer numbers before the breeding season. Archery hunting season begins Saturday, Sept. 14. An early gun hunting season is open from Saturday, Oct. 12 to Monday, Oct. 14.
June 24, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio State University Extension Allen County: Allen County – Are you a hunter, landowner, or wildlife enthusiast? If so, please join the Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife for an evening workshop about chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Ohio’s wild deer herd.
April 15, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources: COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife invites the public to attend an open house to learn more about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer. CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer. During the open houses, Division of Wildlife staff will discuss the biology of CWD, test results from the 2023-24 deer hunting season, efforts to slow the spread of the disease, and future management plans. A question-and-answer session follows the presentation.
