Infectious Diseases Are Killing Deer and Risking Rural Us Economies: ‘You Smell the Dead Everywhere’
October 21, 2025 | Source: The Guardian | by Stephen Starr
When landowner and hunter James Barkhurst went scouting his property about a month ago to assess the local deer population ahead of the fall hunting season, he was left in shock.
“I’ve seen about 14 dead in less than a mile stretch. There’s a lot of does, big bucks and even fawns. You smell the dead everywhere,” he says. “And I haven’t really went deep into the woods.”
The longtime deer hunter owns several hundred acres and runs a small Airbnb business in Athens county, Ohio, where he has lived with his wife for almost two decades. This time of year, hunters from North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere usually descend on his accommodation and property to hunt. This year, with so many dead deer in the area, his business has been almost wiped out.
“Half of October and all of November [bookings] has been canceled,” he says.
It has put him in a financial hole of about $15,000.
Eastern Ohio is a premier whitetail deer hunting spot in a state that ranks among the top destinations in the country. Hunters from around the world flock to Athens and neighboring counties every fall.