Deer Overpopulation Causes Farm Damage - Wildlife Official
MDWFP Seeks $600,000 to Launch Venison Donation Program
State wildlife officials told a legislative committee Wednesday that deer overpopulation costs Mississippi farmers more than $4.6 million a year in crop damage, and asked for startup money to process surplus deer for food banks.
The request came during an Oct. 14 joint committee hearing on wildlife and parks in the Mississippi Legislature. William McKinley, identified by the chair as the official "in charge of a study program deer" and described as the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks' deer program coordinator, outlined initial costs for the proposed venison-donation effort. "So, to start — purchase of trailers, equipment and repair in colleges — we calculate a little more than half million, 600,000 now, to start the process at individual sites," McKinley told lawmakers.
McKinley said the agency is looking to draw funding from multiple sources, including Accelerate Mississippi and the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, to get individual sites running.
The request represents a new state spending commitment tied to figures the agency itself has calculated — the $4.6 million in annual farm damage and the $600,000 startup cost — alongside a new state program with funding drawn from several existing public and agricultural sources.