LANDOWNERS PERCEPTIONS OF CROP DAMAGE FROM WHITE-TAILED DEER IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Survey respondents reported a definite increase in the population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in South Carolina. Almost 73% of the producers from a random sample indicated that deer populations have increased over the five year period preceding 1991. With a higher deer population, crop damage from deer became more prevalent, and 72% of the producers indicated having some level of damage. The producers in the sample had mixed feelings about the damage their crops received with 70% indicating that the damage was either negligible or was tolerable in exchange for having deer around. In South Carolina the increasing deer population and problem with crop damage is regional in nature, with certain regions of the state being affected more than others. About one-third of the agricultural producers in South Carolina reflected an attitude that they were substantially negatively affected by deer damage to crops