Coolers & Butchers Ready for Deer Meat Donations During Hunting Season in Delaware
During the deer hunting season, the Sportsmen Against Hunger Program will again help to provide for Delaware’s hungry. Several private butcher shops statewide are taking part and will process the meat into venison at no charge to be distributed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife to charitable groups providing meals for needy Delawareans. Deer donations can be directly to a participating butcher or dropped at any of DNREC’s walk-in coolers. Last year over 19-thousand pounds of venison was donated.
Hunters donating deer are asked to call the phone number posted on the walk-in coolers so that the deer can be transported for processing in a timely manner. Hunters are reminded that all deer dropped off at a cooler must be field-dressed and registered by the hunter, with the registration number written on the field tag attached to the deer. Coolers are checked frequently, with donated deer taken to participating private butcher shops or the Sussex Correctional Institution’s deer butchering program for processing.
All deer harvested in Delaware, including donated deer, 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 at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/delhunt using a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. Hunters who prefer to talk to a live customer service representative can call 855-DELHUNT (855-335-4868).
Participating Butcher Shops
Sussex County
Dave’s Cut ‘Em Up
6854 Delmar Road
Delmar, DE 19940
302-381-7257
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
Cooler Locations to Donate Deer
Sussex County
- Assawoman Wildlife Area, 37604 Mulberry Landing Road, Frankford, DE 19945
- Gumboro Community Center, 36849 Millsboro Highway, Millsboro, DE 19966
- Redden State Forest Headquarters, 18074 Redden Forest Drive, Georgetown, DE 19947
- Trap Pond State Park, 33587 Bald Cypress Lane, Laurel, DE 19956
Kent County
- Little Creek Wildlife Area, 3018 Bayside Drive, Dover, DE 19901
- Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area, 782 Kersey Road, Viola, DE 19979
- Mosquito Control Office, 1161 Airport Road, Milford, DE 19963
For more information on hunting in Delaware can be found at 2018-2019 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, regional wildlife manager, 302-284-4795. For deer hunting information, please contact Eric Ness, deer and furbearer biologist, at 302-735-3600.
