Donate this year’s deer to help feed your neighbors

Looking for a place to donate a deer nearby? The Deer Donation Partners Program accepts deer drop-off locations for the gun deer season. This list gets updated throughout the season, so check out the participating processor list to see if a drop-off site is available.

Hunters can help Wisconsinites in need, by donating deer harvested in Wisconsin, through the DNR’s deer donation program.

Venison from donated deer is processed and distributed to food pantries across the state. Since the program began in 2000, hunters have donated over 94,000 deer, which were processed into over 3.8 million pounds of ground venison.

Wisconsin has a network of venison donation partners, including county land and water conservation departments, food pantries, charitable organizations, Hunt for the Hungry, USDA-Wildlife Services and participating processors, who all help implement and administer the program.

Hunters can donate any deer harvested legally in Wisconsin. Deer harvested outside Wisconsin, cannot be donated. Deer harvested in a listed county affected by chronic wasting disease (CWD), must be tested for CWD before or at the time of donation.

To donate, field dress the deer and handle the carcass as if it were destined for the dinner table. A couple bags of ice placed in the cavity, will help preserve the carcass in warm weather.

Register the deer and make a note of the registration confirmation number, which will be needed later. If a deer was harvested from one of the CWD-affected counties, ensure the required CWD testing has been done before donating.

Contact one of the participating processors before dropping off the deer, to ensure they have space to accept it. More processors may be added later in the season, so check back if there isn’t one currently in the area.

Hunters can donate the entire deer free of charge, and retain the head and/or antlers for mounting, if desired. When dropping the deer off at a processor, complete the log sheet, indicating the desire to donate the deer.

The donated deer will then be processed and the venison will be distributed to charitable organizations to help feed Wisconsin’s needy.

For more information, visit dnr.wisconsin.gov.