The hunting harvest of these animals was just a few thousand animals. A quarter century later in 1995, the state deer herd was estimated to be just under a million animals and the annual hunter harvest more than 144,000 animals. In fact, so successful has been the restoration program of the whitetailed deer that in many areas, particularly suburbs and urban areas of the state, deer are not only common but have reached nuisance status. On the Sewanee campus of the University of the South deer are frequently seen in yards, walking down the streets, and on some occasions even feeding in the main quadrangle beside the University chapel. These animals have become a local management problem because of their steadily increasing numbers, the impracticality of culling them by hunting, and because of their browsing effect on valued ornamental shrubbery.
Highway encounters with deer and other animals is a serious if mostly unrecognized national problem.
The collision between a vehicle and a large animal is always dangerous to people and almost always fatal to the animal. Several factors have affected the rising numbers of road kills seen today. When most rural roads were unpaved and when cars were of simpler design, rural driving speeds were generally lower. Over the last two decades there has been a complex revolution in American driving. There are more cars on the roads.