Here is article including ideas regarding herd management, which includes concepts pertaining to reducing herds:

http://lookatmybuck.com/assets/articles/deerbook.pdf

40+ years ago reducing deer populations to improve genetics and herd quality was a relatively new concept in the Southeast. How and when a herd was reduced was arguably not as calibrated, precise, as it is today. There was not a fraction of the data, experience, and perspective available then as we fortunately have now. One can only assume that the State of Alabama was experimenting with concepts and practices in an effort to determine the most effective methods and practices to achieve the desired result. We all know the road to hell was purportedly paved with good intentions, and hindsight is always 20/20.