A doe – female deer – standing in a Delaware field. DNREC announced that does accounted for 55% of the 2021-22 deer season harvest /DNREC photo

While Harvest Numbers Decreased, Venison Donations Increased

Delaware hunters reported harvesting 15,383 deer during the 2021/22 hunting season, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. The harvest was 10.9% lower than the 2020/21 record harvest of 17,265 deer, but marked the ninth consecutive year that the Delaware harvest exceeded 14,000 deer. The smaller harvest could be attributable to various factors, including natural food availability, hunter effort or the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s management of the deer population to improve the quality of the herd and reduce agricultural crop damage.
Deer harvest highlights during the 2021/22 hunting season include:

• 6,350 deer were taken by hunters during the state’s popular 10-day November Shotgun Season, representing 41.3% of the total harvest
• 8,492 females (does) and 6,891 males (bucks) were harvested, respectively – representing 55.2% and 44.8% of the total harvest, with doe harvest crucial in helping manage the size and quality of Delaware’s deer population
• 70.9% of the total harvest consisted of antlerless deer – does, juvenile male deer without antlers commonly called button bucks, bucks with antlers measuring less than three inches, and bucks that had shed their antlers
• Harvest was highest in Sussex County with 8,622 deer, followed by Kent County where 4,334 were taken, and New Castle County with 2,427 deer harvested
• Zone 16 in southernmost Sussex County was the only wildlife management zone where the harvest increased, up slightly (1.6%) over 2020/21
• 86% of Delaware’s deer harvest occurred on private property and 14% on public lands
• 2,227 deer, representing 14.5% of the total harvest, were harvested on the 22 Sundays open to deer hunting on private lands and Division of Fish and Wildlife public wildlife areas.

Through the generosity of Delaware’s hunters and their donations of harvested deer to the Delaware Hunters Against Hunger program (formerly the Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger program), the number of pounds of donated venison increased by 15% compared to the 2020/21 season, resulting in the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife providing 22 Delaware charities with 24,333 pounds of venison, equivalent to nearly 100,000 meals to distribute to individuals in need. The venison was processed by local butcher shops and the butcher shop at the Delaware Department of Corrections’ Sussex Community Corrections Center located in Georgetown.

More information on deer hunting and public wildlife areas can be found in the 2021/2022 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide or by calling the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife section at 302-739-9912. Information about the DNREC-sponsored Delaware Hunters Against Hunger program for donating venison can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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DOVER – To help hunters whose largesse supports DNREC’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program continue to provide sustenance for needy Delawareans, the Division of Fish & Wildlife today announced the list of private butcher shops accepting donated deer during the state’s 2016/17 deer hunting season. All donated venison will be distributed to charitable groups participating in the program.

Last year, 16,800 pounds of venison from 586 deer donated by hunters was divided among 32 food pantries and shelters statewide, providing more than 67,000 meals for hungry Delawareans. Since it began in 1992, the Sportsmen Against Hunger program has provided more than 1.8 million meals for Delawareans in need.

Successful hunters can take their deer directly to participating private butcher shops, or they may drop off their deer at any of the DNREC-maintained walk-in coolers, also listed below.

Participating Butcher Shops

Sussex County
Dave’s Cut ‘Em Up
6854 Delmar Road
Delmar, DE 19940
302-381-7257

Ole McDonald’s
Farm Fresh Meats & Produce
8977 DuPont Boulevard
Lincoln, DE 19960
302-265-2321

Kent County
Miller’s Butcher Shop
577 Morgans Choice Road
Wyoming, DE 19934
302-697-8278

D&J Custom Cutting
89 Myers Drive
Hartly, DE 19953
302-492-0323

New Castle County
Townsend Deer Butchering
1300 Dexter Corner Road
Townsend, DE 19734
302-378-3268

Marks Butcher Shop
7296 Grantham Lane (River Road Industrial Park)
New Castle, DE 19720
302-229-0897

DNREC-maintained coolers for donated deer

Sussex County
Assawoman Wildlife Area, near Frankford
Gumboro Community Center, Gumboro
Redden State Forest Headquarters, near Georgetown
Trap Pond State Park, near Laurel

Kent County
Woodland Beach Wildlife Area, near Smyrna
Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area, near Viola
Mosquito Control Office, Milford

New Castle County
Augustine Wildlife Area, Port Penn

Hunters donating deer at a DNREC-maintained cooler are to please call the phone number posted on the cooler so that the deer can be transported for processing in a timely manner. Hunters are reminded that any deer dropped off at a cooler also must be field-dressed and registered by the hunter donating it, with the registration number also written on the field tag attached to the animal. Coolers are checked frequently, with donated deer taken to the Sussex Correctional Institution’s deer butchering program or to participating private butcher shops for processing.

All deer harvested in Delaware must be registered through the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Hunter and Trapper Registration (HTR) system. Deer hunters are encouraged to access the system online using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/delhunt. Those who prefer to talk to a live customer service representative can call 855-DELHUNT (855-335-4868).

For more information on hunting in Delaware, click on 2016-2017 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents statewide.

For more information on the Sportsmen Against Hunger Program, please visit Sportsmen Against Hunger, or contact Bill Jones, Kent County Regional Wildlife Manager, 302-284-4795. For deer information, please contact Deer and Furbearer Biologist Emily Boyd, at 302-735-3600.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302.739.9902

Vol. 46, No. 354

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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. 

Vol. 43, No. 122

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