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Donate extra venison to feed hungry Missourians. Use special
processors for deer harvested from CWD-positive counties.
JEFFERSON CITY,
Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
and the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) encourage deer hunters around
the state to share their harvests through the state’s Share the Harvest
program. Deer season in Missouri runs from Sept. 15 through Jan. 15, 2019.
Administered by MDC and CFM, Share the Harvest coordinates the
efforts of thousands of deer hunters, numerous participating meat processors,
many local supporting organizations, and statewide sponsors to help feed hungry
Missourians.
The National Institutes of Health state that children need protein
in their diets for proper growth and development, and adults need it to
maintain good health. Yet many Missourians can't afford or can't get to good
sources of protein. Through Share the Harvest, Missouri hunters can help
provide those in need with high-quality protein in the form of naturally lean,
locally harvested deer meat.
Thousands of Missouri deer hunters donated more than 289,200
pounds of venison to the program last deer season – including nearly 5,600
whole white-tailed deer. Since the program was started in 1992, Share the
Harvest has provided nearly 4 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to help
feed hungry Missourians.
The program works by deer hunters donating their extra venison --
from several pounds to whole deer -- to participating meat processors
throughout the state who grind and package the deer meat. The packaged venison
is then given to local food banks and food pantries for distribution to
Missourians in need of food assistance.
To get Share the Harvest venison, contact local food banks or food
pantries.
“Hunters started Share the Harvest because they saw a need in
their communities,” said MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley. “And hunters remain
the driving force behind this popular program that helps feed our fellow
Missourians who are in need. We sincerely thank the thousands of deer hunters
who support Share the Harvest, along with the many participating meat processors
and sponsors.”
Processing fees are covered entirely or in part by numerous local
sponsors, along with statewide sponsors that include: MDC, CFM, Shelter Insurance,
Bass Pro Shops, Missouri Chapter Whitetails Unlimited, Missouri Chapter Safari
Club International, Missouri Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation, Drury
Hotels, Midway USA Inc., Missouri Deer Hunters Association, and Missouri Food
Banks Association.
“Share the Harvest is a partnership of citizens, agencies,
organizations, and corporations working together to provide healthy,
protein-rich meat to those who may otherwise go without,” said CFM Executive
Director Brandon Butler. “Hunters across Missouri should be proud of this
outstanding program.”
Hunters should contact individual processors to determine what
funds are available. The cost of processing is the hunter’s responsibility when
funds to help cover the full cost of processing are not available.
Find participating
processors in MDC’s “2018 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and
Information” booklet, online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-share-harvest, or by calling MDC at 573-751-4115 or
CFM at 573-634-2322.
Donating deer
from a CWD-positive county?
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a deadly illness for white-tailed
deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. There have been no known
cases of CWD infecting people, but the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends having deer tested for CWD if harvested in
an area known to have cases of the disease. The CDC also recommends not eating
meat from animals that test positive for CWD. Cases of CWD are relatively rare
in Missouri with 75 confirmed in free-ranging deer since 2012
Deer donated to
Share the Harvest must be tested for CWD if harvested from any of these 11
counties where CWD has been found: Adair, Cedar, Cole, Franklin, Jefferson,
Linn, Macon, Perry, Polk, St. Clair, and Ste. Genevieve.
These deer can only
be donated through processors participating in the Share the Harvest CWD
Testing Program and located in or near any of the 11 CWD-positive counties. Find
participating processors at mdc.mo.gov/cwd
under “Sharing the Harvest.”
Hunters can have their deer sampled for CWD before donating the
animals. They must present the CWD barcode number provided at the sampling
location to the participating processor as proof of sampling. Hunters may also
present their unsampled deer for donation to participating processors in or
near any of the 11 counties and the processor will collect a sample for
testing.
Hunters wishing to donate their deer from CWD-positive counties to
Share the Harvest and preserve the cape of their deer for taxidermy are
reminded that deer with the head removed are not eligible for donation unless a
sample was collected and a sample number is provided.
Deer harvested outside of the 11 CWD-positive counties do not need
to be tested for donation to Share the Harvest and may be taken to any Share
the Harvest processor.
 MDC
and CFM encourage deer hunters to Share the Harvest by donating extra venison
to help feed hungry Missourians.
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