South Dakota hunters have set another state record deer harvest in 2008, making it the ninth consecutive year in deer harvest increases.

The state’s highest recorded season was also set during the 2008 season according to harvest surveys by the Game, Fish and Parks Department.

An estimated 74,000 whitetail deer and 18,000 mule deer were harvested for a total of over 91,000 deer, said Corey Huxoll, GFP game harvest survey coordinator.

The number of deer tags issued rose from 88,000 in 1999 to 189,000 tags in 2008, according to a news release on the South Dakota GFP Web site.

“We would like to thank hunters for the important role they play in helping the department gather harvest information for all game species in the state,” Huxoll said. “It is only through the cooperation of hunters completing harvest report cards that we are able to assess the success of the harvest for each of the deer seasons.”

For the harvest report, visit http://www.sdgfp.info.