Should Hunters Be Allowed to Sell Venison?

[hunts2long]

NO WAY....look what some people do now for a "BUCK" ($)...Do you think many of us "hunters" would be one of there master hunters...hunts2long

[blueeyeddragon76]

well the interesting fa is that there are alady venison farms where you can buy it, order it.. etc. etc.. there is one 3 miles from me.. i think the whole issue is not wether "master hunters" should be able to hunt more and then sell it.... i agree it is all about money and someone looking to make more of it off us hunters who have to invest alot of time enrgy and yes money every year for every game season we wish to participate in.As far as helping landowners keep down there population of unwanted deer on their land... that is the tough one... being able to get special permission for nuisance animals may be a possibility, but on a one time basis, and not for profit, giving the meat to shelters and food pantry's would be best.This whole thing sounds more to ke like some of these 'professional hunters" looking for a way to kill as many deer as they want in a year, without paying the licensing fees in each place they hunt and without having to worry about waiting for deer seaon like the rest of us...and that does not seem very fair to me.. does it really sound fair to you? besides the amount of money made from this new industry would cost more money to run and regulate then would be fiscally responsible... the last thing i am gonna say on this subject right now is this:
these animals are not infringing on our space, but the other way around, yes we claim the land on which they live, but they were here long before us , so respect these animals we love to hunt and harvest,it kis truly a timeless honor to have the opportunity to harvest one of these beautiful creatures!



P.s. you are damned right i am gonna fill my fridge and my stomach with my harvest!!!but if you don't want your venison, then have a heart and donate your game.... thoere are those out there who need it more then us.

[Qtswede]

I'm a Michigan hunter, and I can tell you that by the way that the new DNR-E is run - this is a well intentiond, but not thought out plan. The whole spirit behind most hunters in Michigan, is for tradition & meat & a lesser extent, trophies. To take that and turn it into a small sect of highly regulated butchers is just wrong. Before you know it, the state would make it so that ONLY the accredited master hunters would be allowed to hunt at all. Sportsmen would be considered as stealing their 'lifeline' of profits. There are plenty of Deer farms here in Michigan - which is in fact the reason we no longer are allowed to bait in MI - one of the deer farms brought in CWD, so the DNR shut down baiting to keep from it spreading in the wild population even though it was never in it.
I think it would be better to enforce the regulations they already have in place on their deer farms, and let them sell the meat.
Open things up a little for the sportsmen, and increase the tag limits ONLY in the areas where the deer are overpopulated - which, contrary to what you may read is NOT all over the state.
JMHO. & Hi, all - by the way.

[Qtswede]

I should also point out, that farmers are allowed unlimited 'crop damage' permits to slaughter as many deer as they deem necessary. Most of these deer are either donated as butchered meat to soup kitchens or left in the field. Very few are used by the farmers or their families.

[Bearcarver]

If they do this in Michigan, I thank God I'm in PA.

[SwampLife]

they do that in PA too.

Selling venison? Funny how history repeats itself, 2020 is the new 1920 for the deer herd.

[buckhunter21]

I can understand your reasoning Ben, but I would have to disagree on allowing this.  I think some people might try to take advantage of the situation and shoot more deer than need to be shot, just for a little pocket cash.  I guess maybe there are regs to see that this doesn't happen maybe?

[rf6162]

This has to be the worst proposal to come out in a long time.
1. Selling venison or "market hunting" was what led to the decline of the deer herds years ago.
2. The biggest obstacle to hunting is lack of access. Now we're going to restrict acces even more and allocate it to "Elite???" hunters

[Everyday Hunter]

ORIGINAL: buckhunter21

I can understand your reasoning Ben, but I would have to disagree on allowing this.  I think some people might try to take advantage of the situation and shoot more deer than need to be shot, just for a little pocket cash.  I guess maybe there are regs to see that this doesn't happen maybe?

I don't think Ben ever gave any view about what he thought. Initially he said:

ORIGINAL: Ben Sobieck

What do you think of this idea?

Later he said:

ORIGINAL: Ben Sobieck

Now, I normally don't participate in discussions and such, but I do have some food for thought on this topic. I'll make the argument that hunters....

Adding food for thought and making an argument is not the same as believing the argument. One trait of a good debater to be able to argue the other side. That's all I understood Ben to be doing.

Seems like this has turned out to be a pretty uncontroversial topic.

Steve

[badtoys]

no way!!! it would be a poachers dream