HAYS, Kan. (AP) — Deer hunters across Kansas may have trouble finding a local butcher to process their deer this fall because many of them are booked up for weeks or even months.
The situation is a byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic. More ranchers turned to small and medium-sized meat processors after the virus forced many major meatpacking plants to shut down temporarily or reduce production in the spring and backlogs developed in the system.
Part of the issue is that wild game carcasses must be stored separately from beef, hogs and lamb and many processors don’t have room to store them, according to industry experts.
