DNREC’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program distributes more than 16,000 pounds of venison to Delawareans in need

DOVER – During the 2015/16 deer season, Delaware hunters donated 586 deer to DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program. The donations were processed into 16,599 pounds of venison, which will provide more than 72,000 meals for needy Delawareans. Division of Fish & Wildlife staff distributed the frozen ground venison to 34 charitable organizations and food pantries throughout the state.

Venison for the Sportsmen Against Hunger program was processed by eight participating private butchers and the Sussex Community Corrections Center’s (SCCC) butcher shop in Georgetown, which is staffed by offenders who are serving sentences in the SCCC’s Violation of Probation Center and who have been specially trained for the job as part of a job training program. Since the SCCC program began in 2005 through 2014/15 season (figures from last season were unavailable), the facility has processed more than 81,000 pounds of venison donated to the Sportsmen Against Hunger program.

With the number of donated deer down slightly this season from last season’s 604, 2,148 pounds less venison was produced than for the 2015/16 season.

Since the Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger program was founded in 1992 by a coalition of sporting groups, hunters have donated a total of about 455,079 pounds of venison, providing more than 1.7 million meals to Delawareans in need.

For more information, please visit the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s website at Sportsmen Against Hunger, or call 302-284-4795.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 228


DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife announces Delaware’s 2015/16 deer harvest as all-time high

DOVER – Delaware hunters harvested 14,681 deer during the 2015/16 season – the highest number since the state’s first modern-day deer season was held in 1954 and harvest record-keeping began, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today. The total number of deer taken in Delaware this season topped the previous record of 14,669 set in 2004/05, and also eclipsed last season’s harvest of 14,269 deer which had been the second-highest on record.

“We anticipated that hunters would have a successful season this year due to overall favorable hunting conditions experienced during most of the season,” said Joe Rogerson, Division of Fish & Wildlife biologist.

During the 2015/16 season, hunters harvested more females than males, with 54.3 percent does (7,975) and 45.7 percent bucks (6,706) taken, he said. Antlerless deer – does, juvenile bucks without antlers known as button bucks, antlered bucks with antlers measuring less than three inches, and bucks that had already shed their antlers when harvested – represented 71.3 percent of the total harvest.

In addition to the new harvest record for Delaware, hunters helped establish several other harvest records during the past season:

  • Sussex County: 7,960 deer harvested (Though not record-setting, New Castle County’s harvest totaled 2,548 while Kent County’s deer harvest was 4,173.)
  • Adult does harvested in a single season: 6,869
  • Antlered bucks taken: 4,218

“Many hunters enjoyed success this year as indicated by the total harvest as well as several other new records set, and we fully expect hunters to continue to enjoy Delaware’s deer hunting opportunities for years to come due to the sustainable deer population,” said Wildlife Section Administrator Rob Hossler. “As we continue to analyze the harvest data, we anticipate finding other harvest records that were broken this past season and will share those on our website when they become available.”

For more information about the Delaware deer harvest or any other deer-related issue, please contact Joe Rogerson at 302-735-3600, or visit the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Delaware Deer Information webpage.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 55


DNREC’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program distributes nearly 19,000 pounds of venison to Delawareans in need

DOVER (April 3, 2013) – During the 2012-2013 deer season, hunters donated 18,761 pounds of venison from 708 deer to the Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger Program. DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife staff is working to distribute the frozen ground venison to more than 30 charitable organizations and food pantries throughout the state to provide meals for needy Delawareans.

The venison was processed by nine participating private butchers plus a butcher shop located at the Sussex Community Corrections Center in Georgetown. The venison processing facility is staffed by offenders in the SCCC’s Violation of Probation Center, who have been specially trained as butchers. Since the Delaware Department of Correction program began in 2005, the Sussex facility has processed more than 70,000 pounds of venison. This year, the facility processed 268 deer into 7,636 pounds of venison at substantial savings to the Sportsmen Against Hunger program.

Since Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger was founded in 1992 by a coalition of sporting groups, hunters have donated more than 400,000 pounds of venison, providing nearly 1.5 million meals to Delawareans in need. The amount of venison donated this year was less than the 2011-12 season, in which 23,762 pounds of venison was donated from 725 deer.

For more information, please visit the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife website at Sportsmen Against Hunger, or call 302-284-1077. 

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No. 122

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