You may soon have additional incentive to harvest an extra doe or two during deer season. Inspired by Door County residents Dick Baudhuin and Greg Coulthurst, Rep. Joel Kitchens introduced a bill last week that would allow local businesses to donate gift certificates to deer processors, which would then be given to hunters in exchange for their donated deer.

Currently, hunters are not allowed to be compensated for donating their harvest through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Deer Donation Program, which has helped distribute four million pounds of ground venison to the state’s food pantries since 2000. Processors do receive compensation for the work required to turn donated deer into ground venison.

The proposed program would apply only to deer legally harvested in the central and southern farmland zones, where food is more readily available. Kitchens says Door County is known for its deer overpopulation, and he is hopeful that extra motivation will lead to more animals harvested and more food donated to area food pantries.

Kitchens says he is currently building support for the bill, which could be the first of its kind in the nation.

As of November 4th, 729 deer (373 antlered) have been harvested in Door County and 583 deer (337 antlered) in Kewaunee County since the archery season began in September.