Hunters required to report their harvests through the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Telecheck Service can review their reports online for accuracy now and even see others’ reported successes.

“Telecheck Review” made its debut on the Department’s website, fw.ky.gov, Monday, November 5, just in time for the upcoming 2007 statewide modern firearms deer season opener on Saturday, November 10. It allows deer, elk and turkey hunters to review their harvest records.

“Telecheck Review” is an improvement on the best system we’ve ever had for monitoring our deer herd,” said Department of Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Dr. Jon Gassett. “Kentucky hunters have been using Telecheck’s telephone keypad to report their deer harvest since 1998. After their report, they sometimes wonder if they keyed in the correct data. Now they can simply go to our website, click on the “Telecheck Review” link and check for themselves.”

The service allows a hunter to check the accuracy of his or her reported data, which includes hunter’s name, species and gender harvested, county and date taken, type of weapon used and whether there were visible antlers or a beard. If an error is detected, he or she can call the department toll free at 1-800-858-1549 and correct the entry.

When Telecheck made its 1998 debut, hunter harvest and game management took giant leaps forward.

“We left a pencil and carbon paper system behind and stepped into the computer age,” said Gassett. “The old check cards filled out by store clerks and others were often incomplete, inaccurate, and/or unreadable, and it took several months to physically go around the state and collect them. Telecheck instantly improved the accuracy of our harvest data. Our law enforcement officers have an electronic database at their fingertips and know instantly if a hunter is compliant with harvest check-in requirements.”

There will be an approximate 24-hour delay from the time a hunter reports a harvest until it will appear on the Telecheck Review website.

“Telecheck Review is going to make our Telecheck system even better,” said Gassett. “The management and enforcement potential is exciting and will help ensure that our high quality deer, elk and turkey populations continue to excel.”