Every year thousands of deer are killed by hunters for sport and meat. In 2014, almost 150,000 deer were killed in Illinois alone. Almost all of those deer that were harvested were from hunters who killed in the field, field dressed their deer, and then took the deer to meat processors for preparation for human consumption.
During the field dressing, most all of those deer’s internal organs were discarded in the woods and left for coyotes and other wild animals to consume. This common practice is practical for hunters to reduce dragging weight and in general the organs are not desired by humans for eating.
As it turns out, these organs, when properly processed, are a source of one of the most nutritious and healthy foods for our dogs and cats. Wild dogs and cats eat these organs raw and fresh in the wild all the time. So, why waste so much nourishment when it can so easily go to good use?
Raw Pet Products is a small startup company devoted to reducing the waste of deer organs by providing a process to collect the fresh organs and packaging them for availability at high quality Pet Food stores and also online. We sell our products to cover some of our costs, but we are not in this business to make tons of money. We simply see a way to help reduce waste while at the same time providing a positive service.
Our goal is two fold.
First off, we wish to provide the highest quality and most nutritious pet food supplement possible.
Secondly, we want to help reduce the waste of this high value food source.
Our business model is simple. We wish to educate deer hunters to use deer organs and give them a mechanism to easily participate in our program with the minimum amount of effort or change to their present routines. When a kill is made and the deer is being field dressed, the organs are separated from the remaining entrails and placed securely in zip-lock bags. Hunters then freeze these bags as soon as practical. The frozen bags are then deposited at any of our many participating Guide Stations. These locations receive the frozen bags of organs and call our company for a pick up as needed.
Once the frozen organs are arrived at our facility in Palatine, Illinois, they are inspected, tagged, and continued to be frozen. The food is then processed for distribution. Foods are available as Fresh, Frozen and Freeze-Dried and are available in various sizes and mixes.