Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator - (651) 259-5198.
MN Deer Hunters Donate 78,000 Pounds of Venison in 2007
In the first year of a new venison donation program, Minnesota hunters donated 1,977 deer, creating the opportunity for 97 food shelves located throughout Minnesota to distribute 78,000 pounds of venison.
"Overall, I think we had a very successful first year," said Lou Cornicelli, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) big game program coordinator. "Most of the deer donated came from areas with overly high deer population densities, and the venison from those deer was put to very good use."
The donations were made possible by a new venison donation program that allows hunters to donate harvested deer without having to pay processing costs. Managed by the DNR and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the program's goal is to provide a sought-after food source to those in need while encouraging hunters to harvest additional animals to help manage the deer herd.
"Hunters always could donate harvested deer," Cornicelli said. "But without funding, only a few deer were donated annually. The infusion of new money allowed us to greatly expand the program." The program is funded by a legislative appropriation, a non-resident license fee increase and voluntary donations when resident hunters purchase a deer licenses.
Cornicelli said the hunting portion of the program is designed to allow hunters to harvest extra deer in areas where deer populations are above wildlife management goals. In 2007, permit areas that allowed individual hunters to take more than one deer provided 95 percent of the donations. Nearly 70 percent of donated deer came from permit areas that allowed the harvest of five or more deer.
The program requires that hunters donate deer only to processors certified by the MDA and that deer be free from signs of illness, field dressed with the hide intact, free of visible decomposition or contamination and properly identified with a DNR registration tag. In 2007, 72 certified processors distributed the venison to 97 Minnesota food shelves.
