Eat more venison and help the countryside
There’s a huge amount of healthy wild food waiting to be enjoyed. Athwenna Irons reports on the venison glut
ADEVON butchery business is calling on chefs to think sustainably and add wild venison to their menus this winter.
Often viewed as a luxury product, venison sourced directly from the Westcountry’s woodlands is fast becoming a recognised climate-friendly option, with a natural foraged diet and no added supplements.
Catering butcher and fine foods supplier MC Kelly, based in Copplestone, says a drop in demand for this proteinrich game meat, driven by restrictions placed on the hospitality sector during the Covid-19 lockdowns, has caused the wild deer population to grow “exponentially” in the UK.
Imports of cheaper, lower quality venison from countries such as New Zealand, Spain and Portugal have also hit the domestic venison market.
MC Kelly supply a wide range of copper-shot venison sourced from the woodlands and forests of the South West and the company’s owner and managing director, Andy Gray, wants the catering industry to add wild venison to their menus this winter.
He explained: “Venison is one of the most sustainable and versatile wild meats we supply, the flavour and profile of the meat rival that of red meat making it a healthy and sustainable alternative option.
“Venison has long been out of fashion with the consumer, but with its depth of flavour and ability to have a positive environmental effect we believe it is time to put it back on menus and specials boards.
“All our venison is copper-shot so can be eaten by all the family and is a healthy meat full of flavour, high in protein and lower in saturated fat than beef. As advocates of a sustainable rural existence, I hope we can help push the demand for this versatile and delicious meat.”
The British Deer Society, which promotes deer education, research and management best practice to ensure a “healthy and sustainable” population, says that in large numbers deer have negative impacts on tree planting and agriculture, and are involved in up to 74,000 traffic accidents each year.
As a prey species, deer breed more rapidly than is necessary simply to sustain their population. One hundred roe deer, for example, uncontrolled but allowing for known birth and mortality rates, can grow to as many as 1,000 in just 10 years.
On its website, the British Deer Society states: “Deer are an important species which contribute positively to our biodiversity.
“They are also much loved and valued for the pleasure they bring, even though the times of their activity means that many people are unaware of their close proximity and high numbers.
“In the absence of natural predation it falls to man to manage the ever growing populations, but to manage them with care, with respect and with deference to scientific knowledge.
“With fertility control impossible to deliver in the wild, management usually means culling to a plan which replicates a similar impact to that of natural predation.”
It adds that deer management should be seen as “necessary, beneficial, environmentally responsible and a positive contribution to overall deer welfare”, and “those who manage deer also love deer”.