Lawmakers Look To Add Turkeys To Hunting Meat Donation Program

Since 2000, Wisconsin hunters have been able to donate deer to be processed and sent to food pantries and other charitable organizations. Chippewa Falls Republican Sen. Terry Moulton is a sponsor of a proposal that would add wild turkey donation to the program. He spoke in favor of the bill during a Senate public hearing in the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy Wednesday.

“One of the reasons that I really wanted to sponsor this bill is it gives Wisconsin outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen a chance to give back to the community and to needy families,” Moulton said.

Moulton was joined by another sponsor of the bill during the hearing, Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R – Oconomowoc.

“If we have folks who are hunting for sport and wish to donate meat, they should have the ability to do that just as they do deer,” Kleefisch said.

Since the deer donation program’s start, more than 85,000 deer have been donated, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources. That’s resulted in more than 3.8 million pounds of ground venison.

During the hearing, Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, who is a co-sponsor of the measure, asked about a concern he said was raised by the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection regarding processing of the wild turkey donations.

Miller said distributors want products processed at licensed processing plants but according to a fiscal estimate for the bill, just 25 facilities were licensed in 2013 by DATCP to slaughter poultry. The small number of licensed poultry processors in the state — many of which typically handle bulk processing orders as opposed to individual birds — could limit turkey donation.

Miller asked if there was any workaround to address the concern. Kleefisch said this question came up during the Assembly’s consideration of the measure.

“When we talked to the turkey processors and DATCP, it was very similar to this when we initiated the deer donation program, and what happened as the need for it arose, more and more people were able to do it in the local communities, so we think that it’ll take care of itself,” Kleefisch said.

The proposal passed the state Assembly in April.