Nope, I don't eat them that's for sure. My aunt had a cookout one time and served deer burgers. She didn't tell anyone but I could tell by the smell it was not beef. I wouldn't eat it and my sis did, she was sick thinking she ate deer. I am in Peoria, P-town but often go to Chi-town as my two of my brothers-in-law live there. They actually live in Palos Hills. We have so many deer out where we live it is kind of rural and when I go to work sometimes I see herds off 15-20 of them on the side of the road. State Farm said Illinois has the highest reports of deer car collision.
We do hunt deer and love the meat. With the deer burger the processor always mixes some hamburger meat in with it. In fact the best way we enjoy grilled deer burger is to mix the deer burger with the deer patty sausage and season it well. One pound of each. It has never smelled any differently than the beef we grill and I have been cooking both almost all of my life. (Which is a long time lol)
I would much rather eat venison than store bought beef that has come from inhumane slaughterhouses where the animals is corralled up and knows its going to die. We do eat the meat from supermarkets but I try not to think about what the animal went through and how they were killed. Still sometimes it does cross my mind. They do awful things to the cow even prodding it with an electric shocker or hitting it in the head with a metal rod. Ughh.
Plus deer meat is much much healthier. The American Heart Association recommends it highly as one of the healthiest meats humans can consume. At one time it was the #1 choice of meat on their site. Its delicious if it is prepared right and taste just like beef. The only thing is deer meat doesn't have a lot of fat like a cow does so it does have to be seasoned well. We love the cubed steak which I fry and put in a rich brown onion gravy. It is better than beef cubed steak to me and more tender. We use a great deer processor and he keeps his processing place totally clean at all times. I often wonder if the packaged beef falls on the dirty floor when processing do they just pick it backup? Is that one of the ways that e-coli gets into so much marketed meats?
One of our son-in-laws said he didn't eat deer meat. LOL! Well I cooked spaghetti one night using deer burger and he ate two big platefuls telling me it was scrumptious.lol Our daughter winked at me and we didn't tell him until he was finished. After then he said he 'thought' he didn't like deer meat but changed his mind.
That was 25 years ago and when they visit he usually will request that I either make spaghetti or grilled deer burgers at least one time while they are here.
Its like with all meats and it depends on how the deer meat has been processed and how its cooked by each individual who cooks it and the age of the deer. Since we never trophy hunt my family would rather have a doe.
Some don't realize but if the deer isn't hunted each year they will become overpopulated which leads to starvation and sickness. Most of the time when a deer is crossing the road they are in desperate search of food and/or water. They are crossing roadways even more than ever in the area we live in and are causing very serious vehicle accidents, and even some deaths or serious injuries for the occupants.
The DNR says that hunting is down and that's why the deer are becoming overpopulated and that is never good for the deer herds. For many decades it was another way for families to bond by going out hunting for their food/helping clean it and cook it, but as more children are interested in inside activities only the tradition is falling off some. Thank goodness it isn't in my family. Our 11 year old grandson got his first deer this year when he was in the tree stand with my hubby.
Now back on topic:
I think this horrid man should have gotten way more time than 18 months.
The trauma his children suffered from his sadistic acts will be long lasting. These children will never be able to get this out of their mind. I hope they get all the therapy they need. Abusing a pet is one of the worst things that anyone can do. It shows a lot about the person who does it. I believe anyone who can abuse an animal will resort in them physically abusing humans as well beyond emotional abuse. It is not only despicable, disgusting, sadistic, perverse, but unforgivable. Saying he was drunk does not excuse his horrific actions. I don't drink but maybe once or twice a year during the holidays but I have been around people who were drunk, and not one of them wanted to harm a pet nor humans for that matter. I hope he is stripped of all rights once he serves his time.
IMO
