Hunters encouraged to participate in DNR’s Deer Donation Program
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages hunters to donate Wisconsin-harvested deer to the department’s Deer Donation Program to help stock food pantries this holiday season and support residents in need throughout the state.
Through the Deer Donation Program, the DNR works with partnering meat processors to distribute thousands of pounds of donated venison to Wisconsin food pantries.
“For an increasing number of people, the gun deer season is more than just time spent in the woods with family and friends, it’s a time to put lean protein sources on their tables and, of course, in their freezer,” DNR Secretary Preston D. Cole said during a Nov. 3 briefing with statewide meeting. “Through our Venison Donation Program, our communities and food pantries across the state have stocked healthy local and sustainable protein. Since we started (in 2000), almost 100,000 deer have been donated to food pantries since the program began. It’s something that we are very proud of because there are folks that really count on that protein.”
Those looking to support the Deer Donation Program can also do so through a monetary donation when purchasing a hunting or fishing license or a Wisconsin State Park pass.
Hunters can donate any deer legally harvested in Wisconsin. Deer harvested outside of Wisconsin cannot be donated.
Deer harvested in any CWD-affected county listed below must be tested for CWD either before or at the time of donation. The processed venison will be held by the processor until the results are known.
All adult deer harvested in Dodge, Dunn, Fond Du Lac, Green Lake, Kenosha, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Portage, Racine, Shawano, Sheboygan, Vilas, Washington, and Wood counties are required to be tested for CWD.
All adult and fawn deer harvested in Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Eau Claire, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Walworth, and Waukesha are required to be tested for CWD.
How to donate
Hunters interested in donating a Wisconsin-harvested deer to the DNR’s Deer Donation Program can follow these steps:
Field dress your deer. Handle the carcass with care.
Register your deer through Game Reg. Make a note of your registration confirmation number and keep it on hand when dropping off your deer.
Test your deer for CWD if harvested from a CWD-affected county that requires testing before taking the deer to a processor. To find a CWD sampling location near you to submit samples from Wisconsin-harvested deer free of charge, visit the DNR’s “Sampling For Chronic Wasting Disease” webpage. Test results are usually available from the DNR within two weeks.
Call ahead. Contact one of the participating processors before dropping off your deer to make sure they have space to accept it. More processors may be added later in the season, so check back if you don’t see one currently in your area. Feb. 1, 2023 is the drop-off deadline.
The 2022 list includes Inge’s Custom Meats of Stanley and Lotts-A-Meats of Bloomer in Chippewa County; River Valley Meats of Withee in Clark County; Custom Meat of Marathon City and Smith Brothers Meats of Colby in Marathon County and Hickory Nutz Sausage of Medford in Taylor County.
Drop off your deer at a participating processor.
Visit the DNR’s Deer Donation Program webpage (https://dnr.wisconsin. gov/topic/hunt/donation.html) to learn more. A link to the list of participating processors is available at this website.
