Wisconsin deer donation

The Wildlife Damage Deer Donation program will be continuing Wisconsin's autumn tradition. Since the program began in 2000, hunters have donated over 80,000 deer which were processed into over 3.6 million pounds of ground venison.

Donation throughout the state

Wisconsin has a network of venison donation efforts including: Hunt for the Hungry, which operates in the Green Bay area; Target Hunger, which handles donations from the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone; and the Wisconsin Deer Donation Program, which covers all remaining areas of the state. USDA - Wildlife Services staff also help administer the programs in 49 counties.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) management zone

The Target Hunger program will again be administering the program in the CWD zone. Groups supporting Target Hunger include:

• Southwest Community Action Program, Dodgeville;
• Community Action, Inc., Janesville;
• Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Madison; and
• Central WI Community Action Coalition, Wisconsin Dells.

How to donate your deer

Hunters, you can help feed needy people throughout Wisconsin this fall by taking 5 simple steps.

1. Donate any legally harvested deer taken outside the CWD management zone by dropping it off at a participating processor [PDF] by Friday, February 1, 2013. Deer taken outside the CWD zone are registered with a silver metal tag, and only deer with silver tags may be donated to these processors. Deer taken within the CWD management zone are registered with a red metal tag and must be brought to a participating processor within the CWD management zone [PDF].
2. Field dress the deer and register it at a Wisconsin DNR registration station prior to donating the deer.
3. Call first! Contact one of the participating processors before dropping the deer off to verify the processor has space to accept your deer. Some counties with metro deer management units may be accepting deer until the end of the metro unit hunts. Check locally with a participating processor.
4. Donate the entire deer to receive the processing for free. (Head and/or antlers may be removed for mounting.) Please handle the carcass as if it were destined for your own table. A couple bags of ice placed in the cavity will help preserve the carcass in warm weather.
5. When dropping your deer off at a processor, please sign the simple log sheet indicating your desire to donate the deer. We'll do the rest. The donated deer will be processed and the venison will be distributed to charitable organizations to help feed Wisconsin's needy.

Non-toxic ammunition

Hunters please help Target Hunger and the statewide deer donation program "Feed The Need!" Please consider switching to non-toxic ammunition as even a very small amount of lead in a deer carcass is toxic to humans and wildlife. Page 23 of the Deer Hunting Regulations [PDF] booklet lists recommendations to reduce the risk of lead in venison and also lists links on where to find copper bullets and non-toxic ammunition for hunting.

Thank you for your interest and good luck hunting!