Number Of Deer Donated To Help Food Pantries Is At All-Time Low This Season

Wisconsin’s deer donation program is seeing its lowest hunter participation since the program began in 2000, with donations down 40 percent compared to last year.

Only 1,300 deer have been turned in to processors for the Department of Natural Resource’s Deer Donation Program, which ships surplus venison to state food pantries — by far the lowest number the program has even seen. DNR wildlife damage biologist Dan Hirchert said it’s not very surprising, given last year’s severe winter and big changes to the structure of the state’s gun deer hunt.

“We had parts of 19 counties that were buck-only,” he said. “So, in those areas there certainly isn’t going to be a surplus of deer, especially a surplus of harvested deer.”

Hirchert said they’re still accepting deer donations through Feb. 1, though they receive the majority of deer during and just after the nine-day gun-deer hunt.

The best year for the program was 2006, when nearly 12,000 deer were donated.