Virginia officials say fewer deer were killed in the state last year than the year before.
They say the number was down 15 percent, which equates to about 40,000 less deer killed in 2010 than 2009.
Bedford County led Virginia in 2010 for the fifth year running at about 7,500 deer kills. That's a 17 percent decline from 2009.
Officials say they saw the decline coming because of aggressive deer management efforts in recent years.
