Controlling populations and eating wild game

This is a multi-part series about hunting as a conservation tool.

A lady in a Great Falls, MT butcher shop was about to have prime antelope meat, backstrap and tenderloins, ground into hamburger. I asked her why and she had a good reason.

Her grandchildren wouldn’t eat antelope in any condition, so she camouflaged the meat. She would purchase the cheapest beef hamburger available and mix it half and half with the ground antelope. The grandkids didn’t know the difference. Another advantage was the ability to turn an 80-percent lean to 20-percent fat ground meat into a 90-percent lean and 10-percent fat result.

This woman was about to put a couple hundred pounds of ground meet in her freezer to make meatloaf, spaghetti, stuffed cabbage rolls, etc. to feed hungry grandkids.

The same is true of venison. My ground deer and elk meet has no fat added, so it is 100-percent fat free, or as close as possible to 100 percent. The cook must realize, however, a little oil needs to be added to a skillet to brown no-fat wild game or the meat is likely to stick and burn.

Ground goose and duck meat could be treated in the same manner. It could be mixed with ground beef, chicken or turkey. This meat could also be donated to area food banks, with instructions about how to cook it. Food banks are always in need of protein.

Sandhill cranes

The sandhill crane is a beautiful bird and their coos are special as they circle to gain altitude. This next subject may come as a surprise to several readers, but some states allow the hunting of sandhill cranes. These include Colorado, Montana, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Texas. Yes, even I might avoid shooting one of these birds. However, if they were causing damage to crops and needed to be thinned, it would be better for a hunter to shoot the birds and harvest the meet.

This leads to an upsetting bit of fact coming from my recent research on this subject. There is at least one state which does not allow hunting of cranes, but will issue kill permits.

This allows the farmer or a designated person to shoot the cranes causing crop damage. The cranes can be shot, but the meat is not allowed to be harvested. What? Yep, the meat rots and is not harvested. Again, what a waste of valuable protein to people who need the meat.

Next week: Hunters could help control of the expanding wolf population.

Read more of Dennis Clay’s outdoor columns at the Herald’s website: columbiabasinherald.com.