Thank you for your consideration of donating meat to help us feed our animals. Please see the different types of meat our animals enjoy and the restrictions we have to be cautious of for the safety of the animals.
Deer
- Hunted deer within 48 hours. Preferably quartered and skinned. The deer must still have the tag attached for us to accept.
- Bones with meat still attached
- Processed deer – no meat with any seasonings (brats, sausage, salami, etc.)
Hunted Game Birds (duck, geese, pheasant)
- Game birds accepted if not shot with a pellet form of shot. This is to insure the safety of the animals receiving the meat. Cannot be accepted if shot with lead.
- Can be whole (dressed) or cut into smaller pieces (steaks, stew meat, etc)
Pork
- No pork products at all (see below)
Chicken
Beef
- Ground, steaks, roasts, liver, & hearts
- Bones with meat still attached
- No seasoned meat (BBQ, sausage, stews, etc)
Fish/Shellfish
- Freshly caught fish
- Whole fish & fillets
- Clams, Oysters, or other shellfish still in the shell (the otters enjoy these)
- No seasoned or breaded fish
- No fish that is preserved in sauces or salt
GRAIN
Listed below are the approved grain and supplements we use in the park for our animals
- Layer crumbles for chickens
- Whole corn
- Cracked corn
- Sweet feed
- Goat feed
- Pig feed
- Oats
- Scratch grain
- Crushed oyster shell
- Wild bird food with high sunflower count
We understand purchasing grains is a difficult ask. For reference, Wildlife Prairie Park orders most of our grain from Akron Services, Inc. in Glasford, Illinois. If you are interested in donating approved grains, you can contact Akron Services, Inc. to ask what we typically buy from them or donate money to our account.
Other Restrictions
- Frozen meat needs to be 2 years old or less
- Frozen meat can only have a minimal amount of freezer burns
- Large donations require a minimum of 24 hour notice before delivery
- Meat donations are accepted any day within park hours (currently 7 days a week 9am-430pm)
- No canned vegetables or meats
- No expired non perishable items (oats, peanut butter…)
Why so many restrictions?
- Pork has a higher fat/salt content which is not a part of our animals’ diets for health reasons (can dehydrate them)
- No hunted game birds due to the risk of shrapnel left behind by ammunition.
- Chicken bones splinter and can cause major health issues for our felines and smaller canines.
- We try to minimize wasted meat since it attracts wildlife. So, we only accept meat that we know our animals will eat.
Thank you for all donations! If you have further questions, please contact Andrew Aberle at aaberle@wildlifeprairie.org
