This is sort of a rant/reminder.

[All country]

I am not against hunting. My husband, two of my daughters and two of my sons hunt.

My rant is about "hunters" that go out and get an animal and have no plan for the meat. They are just after a trophy or kill.
We have been contacted by two such "hunters" this past week.

Early Sunday morning, we received a call. Someone had just shot a buck and wanted to know if we wanted the meat. We decided we could put it up and within a very short time of this animal being shot it was field dressed and hanging at our place. It is now cut, wrapped, and in our freezer. I even fixed taco's for dinner yesterday from this venison. This worked out great, but we wonder what would have happened to all this meat had we not been home to receive the call (we were getting ready for church) or been unable to take the time to process it?

As we were finishing up the clean up from processing this deer, we received another call. Someone else had shot a 13 point 248# deer. Did we want the meat? We figured we could find somebody that could use the meat, so we said sure. They got the deer here after dark, already gutted and skinned. Since it was a cool night out we decided to let it hang overnight and process it early the following morning.

I made some calls and we found out about a family that is facing difficult financial times and they would love the opportunity to put up some venison. We were happy that it was going to work out for some family.

The next morning, DH got up early and looked out and told me that he didn't think that the meat would be fit to eat. It looked awful, didn't smell so great either. We found out that they had gutted & skinned it and had it hanging for 3 days. Seems the man who shot it doesn't like buck meat? Our weather for the past week or so has been cool at night, but rather warm during the day. Not good weather for hanging meat.
A friend of this other family who was to receive the deer, took it to a professional processor to get their opinion. They said toss it! All that meat wasted!

So if you are planning to hunt, yet don't want the meat for your own consumption, PLEASE make arrangements for the meat BEFORE going out. Then if you do get something, please, get the meat to whoever has agreed to take it, as soon as possible!

[patnewmex]

So sad the meat went to waste. SO GLAD you folks are there, have good hearts, brains and are willing to help out those who, well, don't have the brains or good hearts or intentions.

In my mother's neck of the woods, all the meat is harvested for the local people. Since my mother is a window, she gets plenty of meat and shares with those who don't have, when necessary.

The dear season should be for MEAT ONLY if you ask me. OR, someone (?) should see about setting up a program to distribute it. Some kind of network. Who knows, that might be considered a type of recycling!

[Rowenna7]

In my area there is a program where if you don't want the meat, you can drop your deer off at participating processors at no charge, and it will be distributed to needy familes in this area. It is too bad that there aren't more places that do this...it is a great program!

[mandidawn]

ugh, as a hunter, I totally agree. I could not imagine NOT eating what you harvest. I know a few people who "waste" deer and it frustrates me. We can eat 2 deer a year (me and DH). Last year we got 3 (first time ever getting 3) and still have some left from the third, so we are eating that up quickly and limited ourselves to two this year. My DH was kinda bummed since he got his deer the first day of vacation, so he was pretty much done with hunting unless I didn't get one. But, as responsible hunters, you should only kill what you can eat/WILL eat. I dont' eat fish, so I dont' go fishing, although I enjoy that activity, but it's just responsible wildlife management practices. I could go on ranting about this all day . . . but I think I will stop there.

[Cabin Fever]

In Minnesota, we have a free "Donate a Deer" program where hunters can bring their harvest to an authorized processor to do donate the vension for a worthy cause.

Read more about it here: Minnesota's Donate a Deer Program

[silentcrow]

Here in PA, we have this... http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=460&q=158644

[Selena]

Our local food pantry/soup kitchen takes them - I believe the processor gives them a good price and typically others pay for processing.

[Scrounger]

We got 4 deer this season from a group of hunters that didn't want the meat. I'm actually GLAD some hunters don't want the meat. I'm not able to get out there myself, so I'm thankful for the free meat. If every hunter kept the meat, then I wouldn't get any!

[All country]

I don't mind if someone enjoys hunting that doesn't care for the meat.....as long as they make arrangements for the meat before killing the animal.

We have a friend who loves to hunt, but he is the only one in his family who enjoys eating venison. He will call around before going out to make sure he has someone that will take the meat. If he can't find someone, he doesn't hunt.

It was the second deer we were called on that really upset us. This man knew he would not eat buck meat, made no plans to give it to someone else, he should have never shot it. Then after shooting it, he just let it go bad before attempting to give it away. There was no excuse for it. We hear many stories like this every year.

We have programs here where the meat can be distributed to the needy, food pantries etc.
There are local families that would be happy to take the meat and process it themselves. Unfortunately many don't bother calling them and as a result good meat goes to waste.

[Quint]

During doe season I normally pick up a couple of extra tags (I get them free as a landowner) and take two nice does to the locker to donate to hunters for the hungry. That and last year I took a doe in to have to processed for a family who I know was needy. I had them just deliver it to them when they finished. The locker said they were extremely grateful for it.

[Peacock]

I have never eaten venison.

Weird, hm?

I don't have any kind of ethical problem with it, it's just something you have to get used to, sort of like how city folks think it's weird to eat eggs from the chickens in my backyard. Is it likewise weird to eat the tomatoes I grew myself? But see, with deer....they're wild. You don't know where they've been, what diseases they may carry. Isn't there one like Mad Cow going around in the deer population? Scary.

That said, if someone were to give me some deer meat, already processed and wrapped, I wouldn't refuse. I might have to cook it in something like a stew so as not to highlight the meat itself...just to get used to it...but gosh, groceries are expensive so you'd better believe I'd take the free food.

Along with many of the other "homestead" type things I do -- gardening, composting, cooking from scratch, canning, crafting and generally conserving -- I do much of it because I want to know how, just in case I have to do it to survive or at least improve a dreary life one day, say, in case of a TSHTF situation or another Depression. I'm in this for baby steps. Hunting is far beyond me at the moment...but I can at least get used to the idea of eating game!

There's a gas station (of all places!) up the road a piece that sells venison burgers this time of year alongside the usual hot dogs and coffee. Interesting!

But toward the OP's point...yes, that's why I have no ethical problem about eating deer meat -- my daughter's a wannabee vegetarian (she just likes FOOD too much ) and doesn't want to think about dead animals. I tell her...geez...the animals are going to die anyway, eventually, aren't they? But it's just stupid to "harvest" anything you're not going to use, whether it's a deer, one of your farm-raised chickens, or a tomato.

OTOH...I just thought of this...in our area there is a serious problem with deer overpopulation. Park rangers and police are actually going out and hunting deer just to hunt them and reduce the herds; I have no idea what they do with the meat. Food pantries I hope...but...given the sue-happy nature of people, costs of processing, and general distaste many city folks have for eating venison...it probably goes to waste. But clearing them out, so to speak, makes life a lot better for the remaining deer. So waste is a relative thing, I guess.

[silverbackMP]

My parents and I processed around 22 deer last year (some frozen, some canned, some smoked, some made into sausage). I wasn't around this year so needless to say that they didn't process, shoot, or accept any this year!!!

[JJ Grandits]

New York also has a donation program. Part of deer hunting is a management tool however wasting the meat is wrong in so many ways. As I told my son some years ago when asking if he could shoot a bird with his BB gun, "only if you plan on eating it for dinner".

[myrandaandkids]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

In Minnesota, we have a free "Donate a Deer" program where hunters can bring their harvest to an authorized processor to do donate the vension for a worthy cause.

Read more about it here: Minnesota's Donate a Deer Program

i know of this program,,, in fact a few years ago my family was in a real bind and boy were we thankful in december when food shelf nearly filled our freezer with venison.....got my first doe this year and intend to savor every bite,,,,but next year have decided to use both my tags one for my family and one to donate to others in need, kind of my way of returning the kindness,,,,,,thank you cabin fever i wanted to post on this earlier but wasnt sure of the name of program and did not want to give false info.