Some people just don’t like deer hunting. It doesn’t matter to them that many hunters donate venison that helps to feed the hungry. They find any excuse to give deer hunting a bad image. It does not matter to them that the money hunters give helps to preserve wildlife habitat, and with out that money the land would be bought and developed, meaning less and less places for wildlife to live. None of that matters to them. 

Hunters bag deer for the hungry

“Deer hunting” brings to mind a number of images, such as a father and son spending a day together in the crisp air of late autumn.

One image that doesn’t come to mind is that of homeless people at a soup kitchen, at least not until the charity Hunt to Feed got its start three years ago.

As its name suggest, the Oxford-based charity donates venison to the hungry by way of the Connecticut Food Bank, according to its president, Joe Tucker, also of Oxford.

“Each deer produces 40 to 50 pounds of deer meat,” he said. The first year we donated 700 pounds of venison. Last year it was 1,250 pounds. And this year, we’re on track to go over a ton.”

He said that the program allows hunters in the state, including bow hunters, to donate the deer that they harvest to CFB, free of charge. “We raised funds through our banquet, which is used to pay the butcher — all the hunters have to do is to drop off the deer at one of our two certified butchers.”

Tucker, 48, who also owns and operates a deer pest management company, White Tailed Solutions, said that the meat is ground up by the butcher and used just like ground beef.

“Venison is a good source of lean protein,” said Nancy L. Carrington, CFB executive director. “It’s generally the more expensive portion of the meal that our member programs are looking for. The Hunt To Feed program has been good for us.”

CFB donates food to food banks, soup kitchens and the like in Fairfield, Litchfield, Windham and New Haven counties. Most of it winds up in Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury.Another benefit of the program is the thinning of the deer population, Tucker said. “In Fairfield County and along the shore, the state Department of Environmental Protection allows you to essentially hunt as many deer as you want,” he said, noting that deer — thanks to traffic accidents — is the most dangerous wild animal in North America.

He added that humans have unwittingly created ideal habitats of deer over the years. These include golf courses and wooded “open spaces” that boarder residential yards. Deer like wooded areas that receive some sun, and the plants that grow there.

“The Connecticut Food Bank requires that the deer is processed by a state-licensed butcher,” Tucker said. He said that after the deer is shot, the animal should be field-dressed immediately and transported to the butcher within one or two hours.

The two butchers participating in the program are the Large Game Company, Oxford, 888-3860, and Latella & Sons, West Haven, 932-3619. Hunters should make arrangements with them ahead of time, Tucker said.

But not everyone is happy with the arrangement between the CFB and Hunt to Feed.

“I think that this gesture is meant to build the image of the weapons enthusiasts,” said Priscilla Feral, president of the Darien-based Friends of Animals. “I see it differently. They’re not hunting to feed families. They’re out for trophies. The problem of hungry people is solved with jobs, not deer flesh.”

By JOHN BURGESON
Staff writer CONNECTICUTPOST 

For more information, check www.hunttofeed.com.