The annual deer hunting season is gearing up on Block Island. Rhode Island Public Radio’s environmental reporter Ambar Espinoza tells us, the hunt on the Black Rock/Rodman Hollow parcel of land opens on Jan. 20.
The Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Fish and Wildlife will set up a deer checking station at the Block Island Police Station in preparation for next week. The hunting season opens Jan. 20 and lasts until Feb. 13. This deer checking station will be open on certain days during the season to check deer taken by hunters.
Biologists there will collect information, such as the weight, age, and sex of the harvested deer, inspect the health of each animal, and take samples to check for something called the Chronic Wasting Disease.
The hunt helps cull an overgrown deer population that has plagued the island, damaging crops and spreading tick-borne illnesses.
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