Bonus antlerless deer harvest authorizations available: Wisconsin DNR

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Wednesday, Aug. 11 announced that bonus antlerless deer harvest authorizations will be available for purchase.

Interested hunters can purchase authorizations starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 16 online through the Go Wild license portal and at license sales locations.

Deer population levels vary throughout the state, and antlerless harvest opportunities vary by management zone. This allows for greater harvest where deer are abundant and a more conservative harvest where deer are fewer in number.

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Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations, formerly known as tags, are available for purchase in all deer management units (DMUs) for the 2021 season.

Bonus authorizations are sold at a rate of one per person per day until sold out or until the 2021 deer hunting season ends. Bonus authorizations are $12 each for Wisconsin residents, $20 each for non-residents and $5 each for youth ages 11 and under.

A list of units with bonus antlerless harvest authorizations available for purchase is available on the DNR website.

Each day at 9:45 a.m., an online queuing system will be put in place to manage volume. At 10 a.m., all online users waiting on the Go Wild will be randomly assigned a number and staged into a virtual queue.

There is no advantage for customers who enter the site before 9:45 a.m. The DNR notes that customers who enter the site after the randomization at 10 a.m. will be added to the end of the virtual queue in the order in which they arrive.

When accessing Go Wild, follow the prompts until reaching your personalized dashboard. To purchase a bonus antlerless harvest authorization, click the "Buy Licenses" button from the dashboard to open the sales catalog. From there, you will find "Bonus Antlerless Harvest Authorization" at the very top of the list. Anyone who has not had the chance to get a license in advance can purchase one after selecting the bonus antlerless harvest authorization in Go Wild.

Hunters will need to know the deer management zone and unit in which they intend to hunt. They will also need to determine whether they will hunt on public or private land to make their purchase.

The first three days of bonus sales are management zone-specific, and the fourth day is open to all zones:

• Aug. 16, 10 a.m. – Northern and Central Forest (Zone 1);
• Aug. 17, 10 a.m. – Central Farmland (Zone 2);
• Aug. 18, 10 a.m. – Southern Farmland (Zone 2); and
• Aug. 19, 10 a.m. – Remaining bonus harvest authorizations (all zones).

As a reminder, a Farmland (Zone 2) antlerless harvest authorization is included with each deer hunting license purchase in units that offer them. Some units will offer more than one antlerless deer harvest authorization with each deer license.

For more information regarding deer hunting in Wisconsin, visit the DNR webpage.