Donating your deer this season

[rkhinrichs]

Hey fellow Hotspotoutdoors deer hunters. This year with more tags being given out maybe consider donating your deer to the less fortunate. Here is the link to the DNR home page.  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/deer/donation/index.html

 

Here is the link to the processors that are participating this year!  http://www.mda.state.mn.us/licensing/inspections/meatpoultryegg/venisondonation/processors.aspx

[daydreamer]

Or maybe instead of shooting that doe for fun you pass that doe so we can let the herd rebuild even further...just because the DNR gives out more tags than they should doesn't mean the hunters need to shoot them.  I'm all for donating to the less fortunate but given our states deer herd slumping I just can't justify it...

[Wanderer]

Or maybe those who don't consume their whole deer (or any) in a year might donate theirs.  Perhaps a taste from a buddy's deer is enough to tide them over for a year rather than cleaning out the freezer to make room for the new one?

I believe it's much better to donate something you know you won't use (based on history) than not, out of any imposed sense of responsibility.

Our responsibility is to make sure we waste as little as possible.  If one deer is truly enough for 2 or more hunters, donate the rest to those who WILL use it. And be proud you did.

[nofishfisherman]

I'm glad that there is a donation program set up when there is extra meat that isn't going to get used.  However, I'm a little torn on the topic.  If you aren't going to use the animal that you shot wouldn't the better answer be to not shoot the animal in the first place?  I guess I don't understand the point of killing something just for the sake of killing it.  

[Wanderer]

Agreed.

But there is reality and then theory.  Many good intentions spoil over the course of a year.  May as well admit it, own up to it, and handle the best way we can.

[certified jumbo]

I would say save the deer and donate the money the license would have cost you to the food shelves.   I think it sends the wrong message to hunters to just blast away.  Similarly to when you could harvest up to 5 or 7 deer per hunter a few years back.  

[PurpleFloyd]

The meat and the time spent with family in the hunt are the reasons to hunt IMO. I savor every ounce of the meat that comes from the deer we harvest and the thought of shooting a deer just to shoot it without utilizing the meat isn't right (once again IMO)

[rkhinrichs]

Well my goal of the post was to inform people on here a opportunity to give hunters a good name! With the recent bad publicity in the news(UA). 

Maybe I should of not put in my post that the DNR is giving out more tags cause that sends a connotation that you should shoot everything.  

 

I'm coming from a sincere place. I hunt a lot of city and special hunts where the Goal is to harvest deer. And what I do is donate them! I will keep one deer for my self and that will last till aug or so depending on what I make.

 

Im telling you by donating deer the processor gets some money for their time. And the people that line up to get the donated deer are more than thankful!!! Let me tell you the line is LONG!!!!! There are 32 processor that are excepting deer! That means there is a demand for it.

Edited October 6, 2016 by rkhinrichs

[leech~~]

22 minutes ago, rkhinrichs said:

Im telling you by donating deer the processor gets some money for their time. And the people that line up to get the donated deer are more than thankful!!! Let me tell you the line is LONG!!!!! There are 32 processor that are excepting deer! That means there is a demand for it.

Demand & Need is where I get a little stuck.

Lot's of people Demanding out there, but do they really Need?

With 32 processors lines up out of the goodness of their hearts, the "some money" may be a little better then you think for them. Why would they be tying up their processing capacity right at a peak time for them with bills and employees to pay?

[certified jumbo]

Unless I'm reading it incorrectly, which is possible, processors are getting $70 per deer from the state.   The money comes from deer license price increases. 

[rkhinrichs]

At the end of the day...it is, what it is!   Im just trying to help people! Yea the dnr gives them 70 bucks to processor the deer. If I go to the processor it cost me 90! 

 

Yea u could make the argument they get a tax right off too. But who cares  the guy I talked to was happy and very excited that I was donating my deer! He was thankful I was looking out for other people.  And more than happy to help others too!!! 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2016 by rkhinrichs

[certified jumbo]

I'm not trying to be a pill about it.  The money is already allocated so if someone wants to donate, fair enough.  Many other states, most notably Iowa, have adopted similar programs way before we did.   It was a matter of time.  It's good public relations for those who support it.  

My biggest concern is we still have bucks only areas and most of the state is 1 deer.  Seems odd to implement when conditions are such.  Yet there are city hunts and the metro area which have unlimited harvest.  So who knows.  But it comes at a steep price tag.  70$ can buy a lot of food.

[rkhinrichs]

On hotspots we hate on the DNR more then anything... give the DNR this they are trying to help people! 

[rkhinrichs]

1 minute ago, certified jumbo said:

I'm not trying to be a pill about it.  The money is already allocated so if someone wants to donate, fair enough.  Many other states, most notably Iowa, have adopted similar programs way before we did.   It was a matter of time.  It's good public relations for those who support it.  

My biggest concern is we still have bucks only areas and most of the state is 1 deer.  Seems odd to implement when conditions are such.  Yet there are city hunts and the metro area which have unlimited harvest.  So who knows.  But it comes at a steep price tag.  70$ can buy a lot of food.

Certified I live in northern eastern mn(iron range). And your right, when I talk to people about donating deer they think I'm crazy since they only get to shoot one deer per year which most of the time it is  bucks only! 

 

Im lucky to hunt just special hunts, city or private land around long priaire. So for me donating deer is a option. 

 

Donating deer is not for everyone but for the groups or individuals that need an alternative...donating deer is a option

1 minute ago, certified jumbo said:

I'm not trying to be a pill about it.  The money is already allocated so if someone wants to donate, fair enough.  Many other states, most notably Iowa, have adopted similar programs way before we did.   It was a matter of time.  It's good public relations for those who support it.  

My biggest concern is we still have bucks only areas and most of the state is 1 deer.  Seems odd to implement when conditions are such.  Yet there are city hunts and the metro area which have unlimited harvest.  So who knows.  But it comes at a steep price tag.  70$ can buy a lot of food.

Certified I live in northern eastern mn(iron range). And your right, when I talk to people about donating deer they think I'm crazy since they only get to shoot one deer per year which most of the time it is  bucks only! 

 

Im lucky to hunt just special hunts, city or private land around long priaire. So for me donating deer is a option. 

 

Donating deer is not for everyone but for the groups or individuals that need an alternative...donating deer is a option

[JLR]

I have never been a big fan of many of these city / park hunts.  I have seen them have significant negative affects on local deer populations.  The park / city allow deer to be over harvested on their property (often less than a square mile) and that increased harvest affects the population in that general area as well.  As anyone who hunts deer knows they typically inhabit a larger area than just the area being hunted in these special hunts.  If they are harvested while in these parks they certainly are not contributing to rebuilding the herds outside the park.  So by following the rules set by parks and approved by the DNR you are not only reducing the herd in the city / park but also negatively affecting the general areas population.  To be honest there are very few areas in this state where the deer are overpopulated, parks included.  These Hunts are typically initiated to save somebody money and sold to hunters as improving habitat.  Hunters beware by participating in many of these hunts you are negatively affecting more than just the deer living in theses cities / parks.

[rkhinrichs]

5 minutes ago, JLR said:

I have never been a big fan of many of these city / park hunts.  I have seen them have significant negative affects on local deer populations.  The park / city allow deer to be over harvested on their property (often less than a square mile) and that increased harvest affects the population in that general area as well.  As anyone who hunts deer knows they typically inhabit a larger area than just the area being hunted in these special hunts.  If they are harvested while in these parks they certainly are not contributing to rebuilding the herds outside the park.  So by following the rules set by parks and approved by the DNR you are not only reducing the herd in the city / park but also negatively affecting the general areas population.  To be honest there are very few areas in this state where the deer are overpopulated, parks included.  These Hunts are typically initiated to save somebody money and sold to hunters as improving habitat.  Hunters beware by participating in many of these hunts you are negatively affecting more than just the deer living in theses cities / parks.

JLR welcome to Hotspots! But the goal of these hunt is to reduce the deer herd. Not to keep it the same. Look at the Duluth city hunt, after 10 years the harvest it has gone Down over time. Which is the goal. 

[JLR]

Thanks for the welcome rkhinrichs.  I am not familiar with the Duluth area and this particular hunt.  I am much more familiar with the DNR special hunts in southern MN.  The same premise holds true however.  Who determines there are too many deer in any area?  Are there deer being found that have starved in the city over the winter?  Or did one group with a particular vested interest (I.E. insurance companies, farmers, foresters) make the population assertion to improve their profit?  The only way this state is ever going to improve the herd is by hunters making wise decision on harvest rather than accepting the direction provided by the DNR.  Hunters hold all the cards when it comes to harvest.  If numbers are low in an area pass the does and hold out for a buck until the population can support the harvest.

[certified jumbo]

It seems odd to me that a couple of winters ago the DNR in association with MDHA were frantically trying to save the starving deer in the northern half of Minnesota by feeding them in February and March .   Now, we are given the opportunity to donate a deer at the cost of $70 to the state, when at least half the state, perhaps more is still on conservative harvest mode.  This just doesn't make sense to me. 

[Wanderer]

I think the donation program has lasted since the days of plenty.  I think we've discussed to death that all areas of the state aren't the same when it comes to deer populations.

I believe most of us here are serious about our game and truly don't see the point in killing what you won't use and conserve the rest.  But I also believe many of us know others who hunt deer more out of tradition and comraderie than for the meat.  The original point of the post was to provide info that could be used by some to make the best use of our resource.

I feel safe in throwing out a wild one-just-like-silly-me guess that conservatively, there would be 25% fewer deer licenses sold if people who really didn't care to eat venison didn't go hunting.  That's a lot.  And I'd also bet most of those folks don't visit hunting and fishing forums.

[leech~~]

I'm all for "programs" as long as there is a defined need and recorded results. There are so many-to many lets feed the hungry "feel good" programs out there where people are giving to feel good about themselves but no one really records or reports the results. Let's just keep throwing money and services at them until we feel good.

Where are these long lines of starving dying people and children we keep hearing about everyday, on the radio, TV, new paper or Internet that make us feel bad so we give?  If the money comes from deer license price increases. Thanks, but I can give on my own where I see a need then to have the Government once again taking and thinking for me.

[Hoyt4]

Thanks RK

Same with me in the metro if I get the chance to I will try and donate a deer over this fall.

[nofishfisherman]

I was thinking about this a little last night.  The conclusion I came to is that the guys that donate the deer probably aren't going to stop hunting if the program is eliminated.  Instead they'll still shoot their deer and likely just let one of their buddies have it or perhaps in a few hopefully isolated cases some may just let the deer lie in the field after taking any racks they may want. 

So I really don't think this program increases the harvest rate by very much.  Some may shoot an extra deer to donate that they may not have otherwise but I'm guessing they are in the minority.  

I'm not a big fan of it costing the state $70/deer but I suppose at least this way it ensures the food gets to people who need it versus getting freezer burned in the freezer of some guy who won't ever use it. 

As for the people who are hungry and need the help you'd be surprised who they are and where they come from and I don't doubt that a need exists.  I used to work with one of the large local hunger relief groups in the area and its pretty eye opening once you actually meet and talk to the people who are using the programs.  Believe me when i tell you that its not the people that you'd think.  Most people have a stereotype in mind of who uses public assistance and from my personal experience working with these people I can tell you the stereotype is not very accurate. 

[ejf76]

As one of the "lowly" members of the hunting community that would consider harvesting a deer with a bonus tag and donating it to this program, i want to thank RK for posting it to the forum.  I visit the forum a lot but rarely comment, but wanted to give a quick shout out.

I think wanderer's post is spot on for a lot of reasons.  I also think the part of the state you are in greatly alters your point of view.  Reading this topic, it appears that my approach of shooting a doe early to fill the freezer and hunting for a nice buck the remainder of the year (with the plan to donate the meat) should be considered criminal.

I don't always agree with the DNR, but I think this program is a pretty solid one.  $70 to process the amount of meat you get from one animal is not unreasonable either considering the food safety guidelines that are required to be followed.

 

[leech~~]

I guess I may have worked in Manufacturing to long where everything is a process. There you identify a Need, put in place an improvement, and record and review the results to see if it work and if there is a pay back.

I wish the Government would use that procedure, instead of hearing a Want and throwing tons of money and resources at it without ever recording and reviewing the results. 

Individual freewill Donations I agree with, but when others that may not make that decision are forced to pay for it then I have an issue with that.

And $70 to $75 is about the going rate for a skin-cut up and wrap deer at most butcher shops.

[PurpleFloyd]

17 hours ago, rkhinrichs said:

Well my goal of the post was to inform people on here a opportunity to give hunters a good name! With the recent bad publicity in the news(UA). 

Maybe I should of not put in my post that the DNR is giving out more tags cause that sends a connotation that you should shoot everything.  

 

I'm coming from a sincere place. I hunt a lot of city and special hunts where the Goal is to harvest deer. And what I do is donate them! I will keep one deer for my self and that will last till aug or so depending on what I make.

 

Im telling you by donating deer the processor gets some money for their time. And the people that line up to get the donated deer are more than thankful!!! Let me tell you the line is LONG!!!!! There are 32 processor that are excepting deer! That means there is a demand for it.

Couldn't hunters do the same thing through C-list or face.book and eliminate the need for government to facilitate the transfer?  Just a thought.