Ill. deer-hunting regulations under review

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois officials are reviewing the state’s deer-management program to determine whether changes are necessary to hunting seasons and regulations.

The study will focus on some northern Illinois counties in an effort to reduce the deer herd and limit the spread of chronic wasting disease.

The review is a follow-up to practices started in response to a 2008 legislative task force’s recommendations to reduce the deer population by 14 percent because of vehicle accidents. It led to a late-winter deer season and additional hunting permits.

State efforts to limit chronic wasting disease — a disease of nerve degeneration and fatal infections that can be passed among deer — have been hampered by budget reductions.

The public may comment in coming months.