spectr17
12-06-2002, 03:35 AM
Dec. 05, 2002
Venison donations to pantries up 20 percent
The Associated Press
MADISON — Even though the number of deer killed in the recently finished hunting season dropped 10 percent from a year ago, the number of deer donated to feed the hungry was up, the state said Wednesday.
Hunters donated 4,823 deer — enough for 215,000 pounds of ground venison — through a program in which the Department of Natural Resources pays about $60 per deer to have the animal processed and shipped to food pantries, said Laurie Fike, coordinator of the program.
The donations — up 20 percent from a year ago — involved 42 counties and 85 processors, she said.
“I sure am happy, especially with all the media attention to chronic wasting disease,” she said.
The DNR announced in February that three bucks shot near Mount Horeb had the fatal brain disease, the first time it was discovered east of the Mississippi River.
Fike said she knows some hunters donated deer to the hunger program this year because they didn’t want the meat themselves because of the disease or didn’t want to hang on to it while waiting for the results of CWD tests.
A year ago, hunters donated about 4,000 deer to feed-the-hungry programs in 48 counties, Fike said. After the 2000 hunt, 7,765 deer were donated.
Many counties and food pantries in the southern third of the state chose not to take part in the program this year because of the disease, Fike said.
Venison donations to pantries up 20 percent
The Associated Press
MADISON — Even though the number of deer killed in the recently finished hunting season dropped 10 percent from a year ago, the number of deer donated to feed the hungry was up, the state said Wednesday.
Hunters donated 4,823 deer — enough for 215,000 pounds of ground venison — through a program in which the Department of Natural Resources pays about $60 per deer to have the animal processed and shipped to food pantries, said Laurie Fike, coordinator of the program.
The donations — up 20 percent from a year ago — involved 42 counties and 85 processors, she said.
“I sure am happy, especially with all the media attention to chronic wasting disease,” she said.
The DNR announced in February that three bucks shot near Mount Horeb had the fatal brain disease, the first time it was discovered east of the Mississippi River.
Fike said she knows some hunters donated deer to the hunger program this year because they didn’t want the meat themselves because of the disease or didn’t want to hang on to it while waiting for the results of CWD tests.
A year ago, hunters donated about 4,000 deer to feed-the-hungry programs in 48 counties, Fike said. After the 2000 hunt, 7,765 deer were donated.
Many counties and food pantries in the southern third of the state chose not to take part in the program this year because of the disease, Fike said.