It’s got to be perfect

Tasty, healthy and easy to cook, game is rightly being marketed as the ideal food — but the meat must be in top condition, says Liam Bell

There has been a lot in the sporting press recently about the consumption of game, particularly pheasant and partridge. The one thing that will improve consumer confidence, find us new markets and increase demand is ensuring that we produce a premium product. Which is why quality control and following best practice are so important.

The age and health of your birds when they are shot makes a big difference to their marketability and appeal. No one will want to buy or be bothered to pluck and dress small, immature, undersized, wormy birds. Pheasants should be a minimum of 20 weeks old when they are shot, and partridges no younger than 18. The older they are, the heavier and stronger they will be, the more meat and fat they will have on them, the better they will taste and the better they will fly.

Damage to birds by hard-mouthed dogs is sadly more common than you might think and it isn’t always visible. Ripped or torn birds are easy to see and put to one side. Birds that have been “put-in” on one or both sides by a dog are harder to spot.

If you think a bird has been crushed or crunched, hold it by the neck facing away from you and gently pull your fingers along the ribs from front to back. You should be able to feel them and trace the entire ribcage to the back of the bird. If a bird has been put-in by a dog, there will be a gap and a step and very possibly a piece of rib sticking out.

“Most owners of hard-mouthed dogs have an inkling, but don’t realise the damage their dog is doing to the birds”

A put-in bird will be damaged and bruised when plucked, the innards very possibly ruptured, the meat tainted and the person dressing it could well end up cutting their

This dog is holding its prize carefully but there are hard-mouthed dogs that damage the birds so that dealers won’t take them