DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — A new idea in Door County aims to help local food distribution centers receive more venison by creating incentives for hunters to donate.
A local hunter who has been donating since 2000 came up with the plan to increase contributions and support families in need.
According to the DNR, only 51 deer were donated to Door County food pantries last year and in 2023, a steep drop from nearly 280 in 2004.
Local hunter Richard Baudhuin hopes to reverse that trend while also helping control the deer population.
"The need is there, and of course, I think people are getting more aware of the fact that we've got too many deer on the landscape," Richard Baudhuin said.
Watch below as we spoke with the hunter who came up with the idea and a local food pantry that receives venison donations:
He worked with lawmakers to draft a bill to encourage more hunters to donate venison.
"It's addressing the need for food pantries, or for this bill to pass, so that the food pantries could incentivize the donation of deer," Baudhuin said.
Bartering for deer is currently illegal in Wisconsin, but the proposed bill would allow hunters to receive gift cards or certificates when they donate deer to a processor, which then sends the meat to a food pantry or distribution center.
"Last year we didn't get any phone calls for donations," Mike Longley, manager of the Sturgeon Bay Community Church Food Pantry, said.
Longley says the amount of venison the pantry receives varies widely from year to year. Just this past Friday, they got 100 pounds. He says the bill could give hunters an incentive to donate more consistently.
"I think anything that would enhance the program, get more people to participate, would be a good thing," Longely said.
If the bill passes, Baudhuin hopes it could take effect by the 2026 hunting season.
