blake
Life Member
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Iowa's deer donation program during the last hunting season surprised even Department of Natural Resources officials with a windfall of 6,344 deer given by hunters, almost 30 percent more than expected.
The DNR piloted the donation program in 2003 and 2004 to help reduce the deer population by giving hunters a place to donate deer so they would continue to shoot more. Last year, the legislature added $1 to the cost of a deer permit to help pay for the program and expand it from just central Iowa to statewide.
"Deer hunters are to be thanked for their major contributions in providing highly popular venison to Iowans in need," said Jeff Vonk, DNR director.
Vonk said that hunters donated deer at 88 locker locations in 60 counties throughout Iowa. Deer donated to the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, with distribution to the needy and coordinated by the Food Bank of Iowa, amounted to 5,608. At seven Iowa lockers, hunters could chose to donate deer to Iowa Department of Corrections facilities. That Prison Venison Program resulted in 736 deer going to five nearby prisons.
Vonk said more than 1 million quarter-pound servings of venison were received by Iowans through the network of food banks. About 135,000 venison meals were served at the prisons.
The extra $1 on deer permits came up about $42,000 short on paying from the program, but the DNR will pay the additional out of its regular budget. Lockers received $60 per deer to process the venison for HUSH; the Food Bank of Iowa received $5 per deer for distribution and administration; and the DNR spent about $17,000 to promote the program.
The top lockers receiving the most deer included: Corning Meat Processing in Corning, 288 deer; Edgewood Locker in Edgewood, 270 deer; Country Meat Market in Granger, 270 deer; Milo Locker in Milo, 226 deer; and Crawford Locker in Wayland, 217 deer.
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Iowa's deer donation program during the last hunting season surprised even Department of Natural Resources officials with a windfall of 6,344 deer given by hunters, almost 30 percent more than expected.
The DNR piloted the donation program in 2003 and 2004 to help reduce the deer population by giving hunters a place to donate deer so they would continue to shoot more. Last year, the legislature added $1 to the cost of a deer permit to help pay for the program and expand it from just central Iowa to statewide.
"Deer hunters are to be thanked for their major contributions in providing highly popular venison to Iowans in need," said Jeff Vonk, DNR director.
Vonk said that hunters donated deer at 88 locker locations in 60 counties throughout Iowa. Deer donated to the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, with distribution to the needy and coordinated by the Food Bank of Iowa, amounted to 5,608. At seven Iowa lockers, hunters could chose to donate deer to Iowa Department of Corrections facilities. That Prison Venison Program resulted in 736 deer going to five nearby prisons.
Vonk said more than 1 million quarter-pound servings of venison were received by Iowans through the network of food banks. About 135,000 venison meals were served at the prisons.
The extra $1 on deer permits came up about $42,000 short on paying from the program, but the DNR will pay the additional out of its regular budget. Lockers received $60 per deer to process the venison for HUSH; the Food Bank of Iowa received $5 per deer for distribution and administration; and the DNR spent about $17,000 to promote the program.
The top lockers receiving the most deer included: Corning Meat Processing in Corning, 288 deer; Edgewood Locker in Edgewood, 270 deer; Country Meat Market in Granger, 270 deer; Milo Locker in Milo, 226 deer; and Crawford Locker in Wayland, 217 deer.
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