Can I give a deer away?

[ironranger420]

I have a question for everybody. Can I give a deer away to a friend? I have a friend whose hunting party did not do too well. They have 14 guys, only 4 of them really hunt hard, and only harvested 2 deer these year. Our hunting party did good enough and we do not really need anymore meet. My brother and I will be muzzleloader hunting this weekend and have up to 4 tags to fill. We shot 5 bucks this year and no does. My brother and I would like to harvest a couple of does this weekend to help keep that "doe-to-buck ratio" in check. Can I give a deer away or is it illegal? It would obviously be tagged and registered by me, but would be processed and in possession of my friend. I emailed the DNR the same question, but I'm not sure how quick they will get back to me. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[MJCatfish]

The way I understand it is that you can give the deer away, but make sure both tags are with the deer until the deer is consumed. Give the tags to your buddy and make sure he keeps them with him. That's my take anyway.

Good luck!

MJ

[bigbucks]

Absolutely, I do it with a few every year. Once you register it just fill out the transfer info on the registration tag. It tells you what you need to fill in, going from such & such location to so & so at whatever location, it takes about 1-2 minutes to fill out.

[rodbuilder]

As far as I know, it is legal. I heard it on a radio show and the warden on the show said that it is legal as long as you give your friend a signed (and probably dated) note stating that you harvested the deer and are "gifting" it to him.

[decoy]

It is completely legal to give it away! Some years, I shoot and give a deer to our pastor who loves it, but doesn't hunt. I think it is great way to help thin the population. At the same time, the meat is used by someone who appreciates a fine meal!

decoy

[ironranger420]

I got the email back from the DNR. I thought I would paste it hear, so everybody can read what the DNR says on this issue.

John,

You may give your deer to your friend as long as the possession tag goes with it. So tag it with your tag, register it in your name and give it to him along with the tags.

Suellen Rau, Supervisor

Information Center

MN Department of Natural Resources

Bureau of Information & Education

500 Lafayette Rd

St. Paul, MN 55155-4040

651/296-6157

[email protected]

Thaks for all of your help people! I didn't expect the DNR to get back to me so quick. I emailed them after lunch, and I just received their reply now (3:00 p.m.)