Hunters can help needy with protein

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

Eastside goose limit increase

Eastern Washington is seeing an increase in snow geese. The limit in Goose Management Areas Four and Five is six a day. The limit of white-fronted geese is 10 a day. This means a hunter could shoot 20 geese a day: four Canada, 10 white-fronted and six snow geese.

Other states have had so many snow geese, the limits have been increased to the point where there is no limit during certain parts of the year.

Illinois: Jan. 13 through March 31, no daily bag limit. Arkansas: Feb. 4 through April 25, no daily limit. Missouri: Spring season, Feb. 7 through April 30, no limit. South Dakota: fall season, daily limit is 50; spring hunt, no limit.

This overabundance of snow geese is causing problems with crops in the states listed, but, also, they are destroying their nesting grounds. Helping to manage the goose population is the hunter, who should do their duty and shoot as many as possible.

A friend and I were discussing this fact recently when he asked what I would do with all the meat. First of all, think about all the cleaning involved.

There are a couple of machines for cleaning geese and other birds. One has rubber fingers and spins. This operation removes all of the feathers from a bird. It would then need to be singed, washed and gutted. The process would leave the entire bird whole, except for parts of the wings, feet and neck. Also, think of all the goose down available for clothing and other needs.

Another non-mechanical device has the hunter pulling the goose on a stationary piece of steel. This pulls or pushes the goose breasts out of the bird. The meat needs to be washed, but the breasts would be clean of skin and feathers, plus there is no need to gut the bird.

The question remains: What to do with all the meat? This wouldn’t be a problem for me. Most of mine would go through the grinder to make sausage and other ground meat.

In the meat grinding line at a butcher shop in Great Falls, MT after an antelope hunt a few years ago, a lady in front of me had two large coolers filled with antelope meat. Back strap and tenderloins were visible.

I asked her if she was going to grind all of the good cuts of meat? She certainly was, but she had a good reason.

Next week: Controlling populations and eating wild game.