I didn't know you could do this!

[conuly]

Apparently there is a program specifically to distribute donated venison to food banks and soup kitchens.

That makes sense. Surely even the most careful hunter occasionally ends up with more deer than they have freezer space. I'm not likely to start hunting any time soon, but I'm hardly a vegetarian.

Comments

Not likely in THIS state.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

You're allowed to buy a tag for one deer. Per year. And you have to choose your hunting season when you buy it. (That is, if you hunt archery season--which is first--and come up emptyhanded you are not allowed to try again during muzzleloader season.)

One deer does not butcher out to much. A two-hundred-pound whitetail (hanging weight) is damn near a freak of nature. Our local blacktail are smaller....you're lucky to get 50-75 pounds of usable meat. (Or so says the guy we know who actually filled his tag this year. He might be exaggerating, but not by much.)

Here there's a program to distribute salmon from the WA fish & game dept.--we got some of those from the food bank. If that was poached salmon, they caught up to the guy too late--they were completely rank, nasty, stinking. We cooked one, tasted tiny bites ("Maybe it tastes better than it smells....? *gagging noise* ...Okay, maybe not.") and fed it to the cats. I can't believe they expect people--even desperately hungry ones--to eat this shit.

I believe they do give venison from poachers to the food banks, though...I just hope they handle them better than the salmon patties.

Re: Not likely in THIS state.

[conuly]

Question: If you have a family of, say, 5 (all of whom old enough for a hunting license), could you get a tag for each of them but only one person does the hunting? Or is that cheating but nobody's likely to care if they catch you at it? Or is it REALLY illegal and you'll get in trouble?

Re: Not likely in THIS state.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

That's very, very illegal. If they catch you at it, your hunting privilege will be suspended and they will assess a two thousand dollar fine per deer illegally in your possession*. In addition, for several years to come (state's option) they may suspend your license, and if you're "contributing" (that is, the one who lent your tag to somebody else) you're equally liable.

You have to show ID to buy a tag. Then you're issued a unique ID number and it's printed out in your name. Not Transferable.

*Deer or elk. Other game is more costly.

Re: Not likely in THIS state.

[conuly]

Good to know. Of course, I'm not likely to go hunting unless society has collapsed, at which point I'll probably shoot myself due to inexperience, so by that point I probably won't be worrying about the law... but still, good to know!