Post by Woody Williams on Feb 25, 2006 10:20:45 GMT -5
Hunters for Hungry sets meat record
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries hasn't released the state's total deer kill for the fall, but Virginia's deer hunters did set at least one record.
Hunters for the Hungry announced last week that it had yet again eclipsed its record for pounds of venison collected.
The Big Island-based charity reaped 340,173 pounds of deer meat in 2005, topping the 2004 total by more than 6,500 pounds.
The record was no surprise. Hunters for the Hungry has set venison collection records every year since it was founded in 1991.
In the past 15 years, the non-profit group has collected 2,649,127 pounds of venison. The total equates to more than 10 million 4-ounce servings of the meat, most of which is distributed through charitable organizations such as food banks.
Hunters for the Hungry may also get some more good news soon. Virginia's General Assembly is considering a bill to add $1 to the cost of a resident big game license, with the money earmarked for the charity. Two dollars would be added to non-resident licenses.
Senate Bill 718, which passed the Senate by a vote of 32-7 on Feb. 9 and is now being considered by the House, could add more than a quarter of a million dollars to Hunters for the Hungry's budget.
The game department sold 226,333 resident big game licenses in 2005, along with 16,488 non-resident big game licenses.
In 2003 the General Assembly authorized a volunteer check-off so hunters could donate $2 when they purchased licenses. The program collected an average of only $14,300 annually.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries hasn't released the state's total deer kill for the fall, but Virginia's deer hunters did set at least one record.
Hunters for the Hungry announced last week that it had yet again eclipsed its record for pounds of venison collected.
The Big Island-based charity reaped 340,173 pounds of deer meat in 2005, topping the 2004 total by more than 6,500 pounds.
The record was no surprise. Hunters for the Hungry has set venison collection records every year since it was founded in 1991.
In the past 15 years, the non-profit group has collected 2,649,127 pounds of venison. The total equates to more than 10 million 4-ounce servings of the meat, most of which is distributed through charitable organizations such as food banks.
Hunters for the Hungry may also get some more good news soon. Virginia's General Assembly is considering a bill to add $1 to the cost of a resident big game license, with the money earmarked for the charity. Two dollars would be added to non-resident licenses.
Senate Bill 718, which passed the Senate by a vote of 32-7 on Feb. 9 and is now being considered by the House, could add more than a quarter of a million dollars to Hunters for the Hungry's budget.
The game department sold 226,333 resident big game licenses in 2005, along with 16,488 non-resident big game licenses.
In 2003 the General Assembly authorized a volunteer check-off so hunters could donate $2 when they purchased licenses. The program collected an average of only $14,300 annually.
