LOGAN – Antler hunting season has started and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wants to remind those gathering sheds to make sure they take the Antler Gathering Ethics course before they start. Collecting sheds has become a popular winter activity for people hiking Utah landscapes for deer, elk and moose antlers.
Over 20,000 people routinely shed hunt in Utah each year.
But before heading outdoors to collect shed antlers, participants must complete the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Antler Gathering Ethics course. The dates the course is required have recently changed.
After dropping their antlers each winter, male deer, elk and moose will grow a new set of antlers starting in spring. Looking for shed antlers is an activity that many Utah families enjoy. DWR wants people to use caution around wildlife, late winter and early spring are tough times of the year for Utah’s big game, which is why the educational ethics course is required. People can go shed hunting from now until May 31.
“During winter, big game animals, especially deer, often have a difficult time obtaining enough nutritional food,” DWR Once-In-A-Lifetime Species Coordinator Rusty Robinson said. “As a result, they often survive on fat reserves they have built up before winter. If the animals receive constant pressure from people and repeatedly have to run or move, they can use up the fat reserves and energy they need to make it through the winter. Being disturbed briefly once or twice isn’t too significant, but we have over 20,000 people who routinely shed hunt in Utah each year, so ongoing, repeated disturbances can be detrimental to deer.”
From late winter through early spring, the habitat big game animals rely on is usually wet, which means it’s more at risk of damage. The free antler gathering ethics course was made to help shed hunters learn how to minimize stress to wildlife and avoid damaging their habitats during this critical time of year.
After completing the course, you must either:
- Store the certificate of completion in the DWR Hunting and Fishing app
- Print your certificate of completion and carry it with you in the field while “shed hunting”
People who haven’t taken the mandatory Antler Gathering Ethics course or who are detected harassing protected wildlife may be cited by DWR conservation officers.
Areas where you can’t collect shed antlers
Having a certificate of completion with you allows you to gather antlers in many locations across Utah. However, some notable exceptions include:
- Wildlife management areas: Many of the state’s wildlife management areas are closed in the winter and spring to protect animals and their habitat. Double-check for any closures before entering a WMA to gather shed antlers. You can find a list of Utah’s wildlife management areas and any seasonal closures on the DWR website.
- Private property: You must have written permission from the landowner before gathering antlers on private land.
- Native American lands, national parks and many national monuments are also closed to gathering antlers or horns.
Commercial shed hunting in Utah
In May, the Utah Wildlife Board approved a new law designating legally obtained shed antlers and horns may be purchased or sold at any time in a whole or altered state. However, a certificate of registration is required for commercial antler buyers. A “commercial antler buyer” is defined as an individual or entity that buys shed antlers or horns to resell them for financial gain. This rule does not apply to shed hunters who pick up shed antlers off the ground and then sell them to an antler buyer.
Reporting “deadheads”
If a shed hunter finds a skull with the antlers or horns still attached (often referred to as a “deadhead”), that animal could have been poached. Do not pick up or move the skull or disturb footprints or other evidence at the scene. Call and report it through the Utah Deadhead Reporter app, which was released in April 2023, to increase the efficiency of those reports.
Habitat big game animals rely on is usually wet this time of year, which means it’s more at risk of damage.
Shed hunters need to download the app when you have cellphone service, but once downloaded, you can submit a report from the field even without cellphone service. To submit a report on the app, you will need to include:
- Your DWR customer ID
- A GPS location of the skull
- Photos of the animal and surrounding scene
- Other important details
Conservation officers often let the person who reported the find keep the antlers if they determine that the animal died of natural causes or other non-suspicious circumstances.
For more information about gathering shed antlers in Utah, call the nearest DWR office.