The annual deer hunting season in Illinois has come to a close, and hunters across the state harvested almost 148-thousand deer during the 2017-18 season.

Ed Cross is the Director of Communications for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. He says the department is very pleased with how successful hunters were across the state this season.

Many out-of-state hunters continue to come to Illinois during hunting season, and Cross says hunting continues to play a vital role in controlling the state’s deer population.

Just under 1,100 deer were harvested in Christian County this season. Montgomery County saw more than 1,400 deer harvested and Shelby County had over 1,900 deer taken down during this hunting season.