If you ask me, one of the most damaging diseases known to the whitetail world is by far EHD (epizootic hemorrhagic disease).

Being a ‘self-proclaimed’ deer management junky, I have seen this virus wreak havoc on the age structure of the local deer population, and present major hurdles into reestablishing mature whitetails on the properties we manage.

While CWD might be a more scary, long-term issue to deal with, EHD is much more of an imminent and real threat to the deer population and health of the herd.

In my home state of Missouri, I often ask myself why our Missouri Department of Conservation doesn’t report EHD findings. In 2020 alone, we found 31 on our farm. Their lack of answer, unwillingness to produce the reports and general lack of concern for EHD is alarming. And it is something that really does make you ponder about a CWD conspiracy.

During the early stages of the 2020 season, we had 3 whitetails in particular that we were extremely excited to hunt. Our trail cameras were producing a lot of quality bucks, and the season was shaping up to be action packed with mature whitetails.

During mid July, the weather turned hot and the rain stopped, creating a temporary drought in the area. It was the perfect scenario for an EHD outbreak.

As our worries came in to fruition, we started to lose the incredible whitetails we were scouting on our cameras. In early September, a quick walk through the creeks and ponds solidified what we were fearing.

A total of 16 bucks were found on our property this year.

Here is a look at a few of the ones we recovered.