COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — Barb's Deer Processing opened in September for hunting season and has already prepared over 470 deer for hungry hunters.
Assistant Manager Gina Zeigler said the business sometimes receives over 40 deer daily to process the meat for hunters or to donate it to Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger.
Zeigler said hunters find their business listed on the Department of Natural Resources website and give them a call when they're ready to bring in their deer.
Many of the deer are from repeat customers year after year, however, Zeigler said there has been a slight increase this year. She suspects it's due to fewer processors being open than in years past.
"I think because more processors are not processing anymore," Zeigler said. "It could be fewer hunters, but the processors that are not doing it anymore. They're going elsewhere."
Once a deer is brought in a team of eight people works to skin, cut and wrap the deer the way the hunter wants it in a process that takes about 30 minutes, according to Zeigler.
The hunter is then called when the deer is ready, which is usually within three to four days depending on how busy they are. It isn't usually much longer than a few days because the business doesn't freeze the meat.
If the meat is being donated, Zeigler said the deer's lymph nodes are taken out and sent to Michigan State University to have tests run on them. It's then sent to Holland to get metal detected. If the meat passes all of these tests, it's safe to be donated.
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