Deer disease has food banks on edge

WILLIAMSTON - Tom Cullimore stepped through the doors of the Williamston Food Bank to a chorus of shouted hellos, wisecracks and laughter.

That’s how it usually goes when the affable Williamston retiree arrives at a drop-off point with gifts for the needy, even when it’s not Christmas.

“Every time he comes in, it’s like Santa Claus,” volunteer Gwen Hulbert said as Cullimore and the staff prepared to unload boxes of chicken leg quarters. “He brings venison or chicken.”

“Ho! Ho! Ho!,” said Cullimore, as if to drive home the point.

Cullimore, 73, is the sole operator of HOPE, short for Help Other People Eat. He collects donated venison and other kinds of meat from a cadre of processors and distributes it to more than a dozen local food banks, soup kitchens, rescue missions or community centers. On this day in early November, there is no venison. And with Michigan’s firearm deer season set to open Sunday, he’s hoping that doesn’t prove to be a trend.

The discovery of chronic wasting disease in free-ranging deer in Meridian Township earlier this year has meant big changes for people who hunt in Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties. And Cullimore and others are concerned that the CWD scare could slow the flow of venison to people who would otherwise have no access to a lean, nutritious source of protein.

Because of CWD, some local meat processors aren’t accepting deer this year. And some of those processors took part in programs in which hunters donate deer — with the processing costs paid for by programs such as Cullimore's — that end up in local food banks.

“All around, it will impact venison donations,” said Kim Harkness, operations director for the Greater Lansing Food Bank. “I think we’ll get some venison, but I don’t think we’ll get the amount we did last year, just because of the fear that’s going around about CWD.”

The food bank gets some of the 20,000 to 40,000 pounds of venison donated through Sportsmen Against Hunger each year across the state, Harkness said.

Cullimore said only a small number deer have been donated to his program since archery season began Oct. 1. That's not particularly unusual for bow season, and he has no way of knowing whether CWD has been a factor, he said. The big test will come during the state’s 16-day firearm season, when the large majority of deer are harvested, he said.

“At this point, we’re all just guessing,” he said. “We really, really won’t know until this season goes on.”

Some meat processors wary

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disorder that affects deer, elk, moose and other hoofed animals. Biologists believe it cannot be transmitted to humans. Since April, three wild deer killed in Meridian Township have tested positive for the disease. All belonged to the same extended family, the state Department of Natural Resources said. And Friday, the DNR said a deer killed earlier this week by a hunter in DeWitt Township may have the disease. It has been sent for testing.

To help assess the scope of the outbreak and keep it from growing, the DNR has enacted new rules for hunters and processors who operate in the three-county management zone. And Friday, it encouraged hunters in Eaton County, who had not yet been impacted by new rules, to voluntarily stop baiting and to get harvested deer tested.

All deer harvested within a nine-township core area around Meridian Township must be taken to a check station for testing. And processors who accept deer from the core area are required to isolate those carcasses from other meat.

Uncertainty about CWD and the added complexity of processing deer has prompted some local butcher shops, including Merindorf Meats in Mason, to sit this season out.

Jane Tyler-Jorgensen, store manager at Merindorf Meats, said the store could not get a system in place to guarantee the safety of meat in time for the hunting season.

"We took everything into consideration when we made our decision," Tyler-Jorgensen said. "We want to be able to test every deer that comes in and we are not set up to do that at this time. If an affected deer did come in we would not want to risk cross contamination. It is a matter of protecting our customers and protecting our business."

Tyler-Jorgensen said the business is already working on solutions to allow for deer processing next year.

Bellingar Packing north of St. Johns is accepting deer and has taken in approximately 125 deer for processing so far. Owner Michael Bellingar said he considered not processing deer this year, but went ahead when he saw that only three deer had tested positive for the disease.

"We have had to educate our staff about the process and also have had to ask more questions about where the deer have come from. And we try to keep those deer separate from the other deer," Bellingar said.

Chuck DeSander, of Specialized Deer Processing near St. Johns, said he is taking extra precautions when handling deer from the core area.

"We are taking extra steps with how we are tagging the deer and how we clean up," he said. "We will process all of the deer from outside of the core area first and then process any deer from the core area last before we clean up for the night."

But many deer are processed by small, independent, seasonal operators, and there's no way of knowing how many of those have opted out.

Heidi Nagy, of The Butcher's Daughter, and Phil Bahle, of One Trip Deer Cutting, both located in Bath Township, said a meeting with DNR officials in September eased some of their concerns.

Both said they have processed deer from the CWD Core Area this season and have had no problems as long as the hunters presented their testing tag.

"We did take one phone call from a hunter who said that he wasn’t going to go to the DNR. We told him that we would not take his deer," said Bahle.

DNR encouraging more doe kills

It's unclear whether conservation-minded hunters who are used to taking one or two deer a season will buy into the DNR's aggressive CWD response plan, which calls for a liberalized harvest that would thin the local herd. There also are fears that some hunters might sit out the season or go elsewhere to hunt because they don't want to mess with the testing or can't find someone to process their deer.

The DNR is offering unlimited antlerless deer permits for the CWD core area and increased the number of private-land permits available in Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties. Last year, 36,600 private-land permits were available for the management unit that includes those three counties as well as Gratiot County, and this year, Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties each have 10,000 anterless permits available.

Also, the price of an antlerless deer permit for the core area and Ingham, Clinton and Shiawassee counties was reduced to $12 from the normal price of $20.

Williamston resident Mike Mcelroy said he was sad that the DNR chose to issue an unlimited number of antlerless permits, but is also glad to see the agency take immediate action to attempt to curtail the disease.

"I have concerns that this could ruin hunting for a long time if they find more deer with the disease and it spreads. Let's get this handled ASAP," Mcelroy said.

Chad Fedewa, a DNR wildlife biologist manning the Rose Lake deer check station, said the agency wants hunters to keep hunting. And for the most part, they are cooperating, he said.

"There has not been much complaining at all," he said. "I think they are concerned enough or interested enough to help us get the information that we need."

Hunters are not required to submit a deer for testing if it was taken outside the nine-township core area, Fedewa said. But the DNR would like more samples from outside that zone in Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties, which comprise the CWD Management Area, he said. For that matter, biologists would like to test deer taken from anywhere in the state if hunters are willing to stop at a check station, he said.

Joe Erdman, a Michigan State University student from Novi who hunts at the Rose Lake State Game Area near Bath, said be believes the DNR has done a good job getting information to hunters. The deer herd is large enough to sustain a bigger harvest, he said.

"For the DNR to release a large number of doe tags, they must have some facts that the herd would still be in good shape, Erdman said. "I have been out between six to 10 times and have seen a good number of deer." .

Venison a big draw at food banks

Fedewa said the DNR is working on a system that would allow hunters to donate deer for charity, but the program has not yet been finalized.

"We would like the hunters to keep doing their thing. If they do not have room to store their meat, this would give them an option to donate that deer," Fedewa said.

That might help the larger effort to feed mid-Michigan's hungry. Food banks, soup kitchens and other community service groups now rely on programs such as HOPE and Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger, a charity run in conjunction with the DNR, to put venison in their freezers for families who can't afford to buy meat.

Hunters simply leave a deer they want to donate with a participating processor, who grinds and packages the meat, usually at a reduced rate. The charities use donated money to cover the processing costs and deliver the meat to community service agencies.

The Greater Lansing Food Bank's Harkness said she's confident the food bank will find other types of meat to make up for any loss of venison.

"When our community hears we're having problems, they step right up and help us," she said.

Even so, there's a demand for venison, which is leaner than ground beef and pork and can be used for chili, stews, spaghetti sauce and many other dishes, she and others said.

The Clinton County food pantry, which serves 120 to 130 families a year, gets a few hundred pounds of donated venison each year through Cullimore, volunteer Bob Leiby said.

"Whatever he brings, we hand out," Leiby said. "We go right down to the bottom of the box."

It's the same story in Williamston, where the food bank goes through about 400 pounds of ground venison each year.

"All we know is that people look forward to getting venison," Co-Director Jill Cutshaw said. "They ask for it all the time."

Cullimore started HOPE in 2005 and keeps a running count of the number of meals he's provided over the decade (well over 317,000 as of Nov. 5). Of the eight processors he partners with, Merindorf was the only one to drop out because of CWD. But by a good margin, Merindorf handled the largest number of deer, he said.

These days, Cullimore gets donated beef, pork, chicken and other types of meat, as well as venison.

"This is going to be the most different year of HOPE ever," he said. "I've got a commitment of many tons of chicken, and we'll get them fed, one way or another. But man, once people get a taste of that beautiful, lean venison, they just love it."

Deer check stations

The state Department of Natural Resources began taking steps to assess the spread of the disease after a wild deer killed near the Haslett Road/Marsh Road intersection in April tested positive. Since then, over 1,700 deer have been tested, including 1,300 from the nine-township CWD core area. Only three – all members of the same extended family group – have tested positive for the disease.

As part of its response, the agency added some new requirements for hunters and processors. At the same time, the agency is using sharpshooters to kill deer in the nine-township core area, handing out unlimited antlerless permits in those townships and giving landowners disease control permits to shoot deer on their land. That will help biologists assess the spread of the disease and determine if the outbreak can be eradicated, DNR officials said.

•Feeding and baiting is now illegal in all of Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties, which the DNR is calling the CWD Management Zone. On Friday, The DNR said a deer taken earlier this week in DeWitt Township is suspected to have CWD, and officials are asking hunters in Eaton County to voluntarily stop baiting or feeding deer.

•All deer harvested within the CWD core area must be taken to one of three DNR check stations for testing.

DNR check stations within the Core CWD Area are located at:

•Rose Lake Field Office, 8903 E. Stoll Road, East Lansing, 48823. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

•DNR Lansing Customer Service Center, 4166 Legacy Parkway, Lansing, 48842. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

•Williamstown Township Hall, 4990 Zimmer Road, Williamston, 48895. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day until Nov. 30. Beginning Dec. 1 hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

All three locations are closed on Christmas Day. Other check station locations can be found at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/deercheck_439367_7.html​.

By the numbers

12 - Percent of hunters younger than 17 (81,287)

42 - Average age of licensed hunters in Michigan

54 - percent of deer taken during the Nov. 15-30 firearm season

60 - percent of hunters who did not purchase an antlerless tag

329,040 - deer harvested in 2014

Source: MDNR statistics from the 2014 hunting season

Remaining 2015 deer seasons

Nov. 15-30: Firearm

Dec. 1-Jan. 1: Archery

Dec. 4-20: Muzzleloader Zone 3 – southern LP

Dec. 4-13: Muzzleloader Zones 1 & 2 – UP and northern LP

Late antlerless: Dec. 21-Jan. 1