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| Shooting Deer for the Homeless | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 18 2007, 11:38 AM (274 Views) | |
| greatwhiteelkhunter | Nov 18 2007, 11:38 AM Post #1 |
Ruler of the Mountain
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If your a hunter, or you know someone who is please let them know about this program and see if they would be willing to help! I can tell you this. After I retire if there is no program in Colorado I'm going to see about starting one!! REGARDLESS of what the humane freaks may say I have seen FIRST hand the results of over crowding deer on an area and on themselves and it's an ugly thing. This is the right thing to to do. Years ago families shared their harvest of food with the whole family not just them self's and those days have gone away in our modern world. Time to go back in time as far as I'm concerned. Charity is ALWAYS a good thing. Shooting Deer for the Homeless By ELISABETH SALEMME Sat Nov 17, 1:50 AM ET Hunting may seem a cruel and heartless activity to animal-rights activists and many Americans. But hunters are trying to show they can be compassionate people too. A growing number of American hunters are donating part of their bounty each year to people who need it most, the poor and the homeless, through nationwide campaigns like Hunters for the Hungry, which delivers game meat to local food banks and shelters. In Georgia, where the group was founded 15 years ago, more than 1,000 hunters delivered 5,000 pounds of meat in 2006, making 25,000 meals. Nationwide, the group is on track to deliver its one-millionth meal in December. "It's really vital now because it's the holiday season, and there's more need during the fall and winter," says Glenn Dowling, executive vice president of the Georgia Wildlife Federation. "Now is when this influx of high-quality protein needs to come into play in the food banks." Hunters for the Hungry and other programs like it operate in nearly every U.S. state; in the past year, total pounds of food donated increased 30%. Rick Wilson founded his Maryland-based ministry, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH), 10 years ago while on a hunting trip in Virginia, soon after he witnessed a poverty-stricken woman collecting road-kill in the woods. After soliciting tens of thousands of dollars in donations, Wilson and volunteers began providing what Wilson calls "God-given resources" to the homeless. The organization has since branched out to 26 states, with more than 100 chapters. "We see ourselves not as a hunting organization, but as a feeding ministry," says Wilson, who is now FHFH's executive director. Supporters of such campaigns say their benefits go beyond feeding the needy. In Georgia, which has one of the largest populations of deer in the southeast, hunters say their pastime doubles as an ecological good, by thinning out overcrowded forests. Victor DeVine, a hunter all his life, volunteered with Hunters for the Hungry last year at Georgia's Fort Yargo state park, where he says deer overpopulation had become unmanageable. "It was the first time the park was hunted in 50 years," he says. "It was even affecting other critters because the deer were taking too much food." But to animal rights activists, feeding the hungry with animals killed for sport is not a justifiable end. The Humane Society of the United States says that most hunters are pursuing a recreational activity whose purpose is not food gathering. "Rather than spending money on a recreational pursuit and donating the byproducts, spending that money on other types of charitable programs or food for the hungry would be a great alternative," says Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society. "If hunters are donating the spoils, [feeding the hungry] is really a secondary issue." Markarian says there are also non-lethal ways to avoid conflicts between deer and human populations, like installing reflectors to prevent roadside collisions. Another concern with donated game meat, the Humane Society says, is the risk to human health. Unlike farm-raised meat, which undergoes a federal government–controlled inspection process before it can be sold, meat from wild animals may end up on a plate with little regulation - increasing the risk of contamination. "Because goose and deer and other suburban animals feed on lawns and flowers that are treated with pesticides, meat from those animals could be unfit for human consumption," Markarian says. Still, hunters' donations remain constant staples at shelters and food banks. In Georgia, for example, thanks in part to the state's generous bag limit of 12 deer per year, venison steaks (not to mention venison burgers, lasagna and chili), are not only abundant, but well liked. "It's very popular and it's very similar to beef," says Sarah Robertson, who coordinates food donations at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the state's largest food bank, which distributes to more than 800 shelters each year. "It's been a huge win-win for us." |
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| Ali | Nov 18 2007, 09:50 PM Post #2 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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GWEH - I think it's a wonderful idea. We have an overpopulation of deer and turkey in our area. If a hunter does it up 'right' and gets the proper permits, who is to say who the meat is given to? The rescue missions and shelters would be very happy for the donations. It's a swell idea! |
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| gobblerblaster | Nov 18 2007, 10:24 PM Post #3 |
gobblerblaster
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Hey Gary, we have this program in place in Oklahoma. It is called Hunters against Hunger. I serve as a board member with a ministry here called E.S.C.A.P.E . We benefit the community by getting this donated meat from a local processor and distribute it to the needy. It works out real good and we feed a lot of folks and as was mentioned earlier we have an overabundance of deer here. |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Nov 19 2007, 11:20 AM Post #4 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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When the time comes i may have to get some details from you on the processes and support agreements you have in place to start one in my area when I retire. The county where I'll be living is huge by area but the population is not huge. However there is A LOT of needy people as is evident by the multiple organizations running facilities to give out donations but I have never heard of anyone giving out meat..... If it's not something up and running I'll see if i can get the local knight of Columbus to help me get it started and maybe even help me run it. I don't even mind being the point man as I think it's something well worth the time and effort!! |
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| gobblerblaster | Nov 19 2007, 09:25 PM Post #5 |
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gobblerblaster
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It is a great program. The Fish and Game Department is in charge of it here. When a hunter harvest a dear all they have to do is take it to the nearest processor, pay $11 and the state picks up the rest of a reduced set processing fee . The meat is all ground into burger and distributed through local ministries like ours. Let me know when you are ready and I can send you the details. |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Nov 21 2007, 01:09 AM Post #6 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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What a great way to feed others. Our lord feed us and calls us to feed others......... |
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| 3006 | Nov 21 2007, 09:10 AM Post #7 |
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Unregistered
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It's a wonderful thing to do.Much better than putting the meat in the freezer and then throwing it out next season because it wasn't all eaten like a few hunters do.I have been guilty of doing that with some myself. I've been a little under the weather and watched Fox News yesterday off and on and they had some nut from the Cruelty To Animals Society complaining about this program.I couldn't believe what he was saying.He claimed it added to the cruelty of animals and said they did not support the program.Some times I think Fox report on things just so they can get the other side's view on the air. The program works well here where I live. Some people will argue which ant passed gas in an ant hill. |
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| Johnny RebSCV | Dec 19 2007, 04:52 PM Post #8 |
Senior Member
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My family and I have been doing this for about 30 yrs. My dad is a retired state (AL) meat inspector. I think the first year was '75 or '76. Anyhow, he and one of the guys that owned a slaughter house that dad inspected had an outstanding season that year. He was friends with our Sherriff at the time and he said (the Sherriff) something about the inmates having bologna for Christmas dinner. To make a long story short, Pop and Charles took about 150 lbs. of venison to the jail. We've been doing that every since. Provided we have a good season. 
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| VMI84 | Dec 20 2007, 11:38 AM Post #9 |
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Smokefan 64. As a member of PETA myself I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and make the assumption that when you posted PETA Sucks sign you were talking about the group who calls itself "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". The PETA I belong to is "People who Eat Tasty Animals."  They are really good with gravy. Especially chicken, beef, pork dear, elk, turkey, etc..Merry Christmas, Happy eating and feasting, and Good Hunting  |
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| Johnny RebSCV | Dec 21 2007, 11:21 AM Post #10 |
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Senior Member
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Yes VMI, you got it! I myself try to disassociate with that group, I use P.E.T.T.A. People Eatin' Those TASTY Animals Have fun at the table!!!
   Merry CHRISTmas!!! 
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