Shrugging off COVID, States Report Record Turkey Hunting Seasons

By Chris Eger

States are seeing a surge in hunting as witnessed in the spring turkey seasons. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)
With meat prices rising and some sportsmen with extra time on their hands these days, conservation agencies are chalking up record turkey season harvests.
In the Hawkeye State, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources this week reported more than 14,600 turkeys were taken during the spring season. That figure is the highest spring turkey harvest since mandatory reporting began in 2007 and surpassed the previous record high of 12,173, a benchmark set in 2016.
“We agree the driving reasons are that hunters have more time, coupled with quarantine fatigue” Jim Coffey, a forest wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR, told local media. “You can get out of the house, stretch your legs, enjoy nature and you’re not in a crowd of people.”
Meanwhile, in the Land of Lincoln, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says early data from the 2020 Youth Turkey Season– which took part in two weekends in late March and early April– is a record. This year’s season logged 1,744 birds, smashing the previous record of 1,531 set in the spring of 2017.
Further south, conservation officials in Arkansas announced the annual two-day youth turkey hunt

Source: Guns.com