# Feeing surplus deer to big cats in zoos?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 10, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012 "2009-11-10T05:08:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012/41 "2009-11-12T00:51:42Z")

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Yea, but even then they’re probably killed before feeding them to the raptors.

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**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012/42 "2009-11-12T05:56:15Z")

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> [@dragonlady](#):
>
> One other thing, I was told once that wild deer can’t be used for soup kitchens, food banks or school lunches because the meat isn’t USDA inspected. Made sense to me.

This, if true, must be a state/local issue. I volunteer at the Columbus Metro Parks and each season they cull the deer herds in the parks and donate the meat in this manner. This started a few years ago after one park was basically eaten bare because the deer herds were out of control.

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012/43 "2009-11-12T17:45:26Z")

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Went over to CNN today, and this was one of the links for their iReport thingies at the bottom of the front page.  
[Deer breaks into Lion Exhibit at DC Zoo](http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-355794)

_This is a video of the zoo’s response to the wild deer jumping into the lion exhibit. Officials told me that the deer probably wandered in from Rock Creek Park. Although they often see smaller animals, like squirells, raccoons and pigeons, this is the first time that the zoo has seen a deer get into the lion’s cage._

The deer have obviously seen this post and taken things into their own hands (hooves?).

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**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeing-surplus-deer-to-big-cats-in-zoos/517012/44 "2009-11-12T22:23:58Z")

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> [@dragonlady](#):
>
> One other thing, I was told once that wild deer can’t be used for soup kitchens, food banks or school lunches because the meat isn’t USDA inspected. Made sense to me.

Actually, USDA regulations prevent hunted venison from being **sold** , but not from being donated and subsequently eaten. While some states may have laws against donating wild game to charities, [more than half permit soup kitchens to serve culled deer](http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1011/p01s08-ussc.html?page=1). From the linked article, which was printed in 2007:

> [@](#):
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> Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH), a ministry based in Hagerstown, Md., collects meat in 26 states, with collections rising from 170,965 pounds in 2003 to 282,194 pounds last fall. Last year, about 4,000 hunters contributed enough venison to cook more than 1 million meals, the group says.

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