Is venison worth putting on your plate?

[Cut+Squirt]

You're right, it's incomplete, it's a necessary but insufficient condition if you like. It makes no difference to an animal why you kill it and whether or not you eat it. But it makes a difference to people. I mean we've all met people who don't take any pheasants after a shoot, or who catch sea fish on charter boats and don't take any, and it sits badly with many of us, even if we may sometimes have done it ourselves. And beyond us, it's important to the vast majority of people who do not kill any of their own food.



It's not the driving, it's the unnatural numbers of reared birds bred just to be shot that are uncomfortable. It's more akin to poultry farming than fieldsports sometimes. You have to ask yourself whether there's a very solid justification for breeding millions of pheasants that no-one wants to eat just for the fun of shooting them. And is shooting fifty pheasants any more fun than shooting two or three?

Agreed, I'm at the stage where I actually disagree with it.
The turning point for me was working the dog on a large commercial shoot a couple of seasons ago.
1000 bird weekend, absolute carnage, shooting tame chickens would have been more sporting.

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

I think you need to question why you hunt if the end product is not a prize to eat

I knew an excellent salmon fisherman who hated eating salmon. I can kind of see that as at least the chance of a release is there.

I too am seriously concerned about the current fetish with huge driven days without sign of meat going into the food chain (any food chain).

 

[JTO]

For the person with no free/cheap stalking, putting a monetary value on the venison, compared with buying it in a supermarket, will not make sense.
£75 for a 3-hour walk in the country, £50 for a shot if you happen to have one, then buy the venison, perhaps £40 on fuel to get there.........
If I don't kill the few deer on my cabbage patch, I know someone else, with a lurcher, will kill them.
Three local estates are doing their best to get rid of most/all the Sika because the people that they attract, also thieve anything they take a fancy to.

 

[Klenchblaize]

You're right, it's incomplete, it's a necessary but insufficient condition if you like. It makes no difference to an animal why you kill it and whether or not you eat it. But it makes a difference to people. I mean we've all met people who don't take any pheasants after a shoot, or who catch sea fish on charter boats and don't take any, and it sits badly with many of us, even if we may sometimes have done it ourselves. And beyond us, it's important to the vast majority of people who do not kill any of their own food.



It's not the driving, it's the unnatural numbers of reared birds bred just to be shot that are uncomfortable. It's more akin to poultry farming than fieldsports sometimes. You have to ask yourself whether there's a very solid justification for breeding millions of pheasants that no-one wants to eat just for the fun of shooting them. And is shooting fifty pheasants any more fun than shooting two or three?

04:30 to 06:50 should help with the debate but as pleasing as it is to see something like this from the BBC we shouldn't lose site of the key issue that is 99% of those who hunt/stalk do so because it provides nourishment of the soul as distinct from the stomach:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09hdc21/kate-humble-off-the-beaten-track-series-1-episode-2

K

 

[Pine Marten]

For the person with no free/cheap stalking, putting a monetary value on the venison, compared with buying it in a supermarket, will not make sense.

No, it doesn't make much financial sense. I once worked out that a roe deer replaces about GBP90 of normal meat expenditure. So that's welcome when I don't pay to stalk (which I don't much anymore), but if I did it wouldn't pay for itself. It's not the point.

 

[stubear]

For me absolutely yes.

I would argue that in some cases it may not be cost effective and some cases maybe it is. If you have your own ground and can keep some or all of what you shoot then it may work out cheaper than the supermarkets (especially if you compare stalked deer to supermarket venison which is extortionate!), but if you are on a paid stalk and happen to shoot a reasonable sized buck and then pay for the carcass as well it probably isnt cheaper pound for pound and may even be more expensive.

However I think thats completely the wrong reason to go hunting! It shouldn't just be about "well I get my meat cheaper this way so..." These are wonderful living creatures that should be seen as more than walking fillet steak.

I got into it because I didnt like what I was seeing in some (not all) mass production of meat and in particular the wastage. The comment I overheard that kicked me into action down the hunting route was a couple in the supermarket buying food and the guy said "we only need 4 meals this week because we have that chicken in the fridge we need to finish up" and his other half replied "Oh I dont fancy that, can we bin it and get something else?"

I just thought dear Lord! Theres an animal that was probably bred in a barn, fed, grew up and then was shipped away to be killed and butchered and packaged in a little plastic container, only for you two to chuck whats left of it into landfill because you "dont fancy that tonight"?! That was awful!

And then I watched a film called Earthlings - Its an eye opener (although arguably borders on vegan propaganda...) and at the end I thought ok, I agree that was pretty bad and we treat animals pretty badly on average but I still like eating meat - so what to do?

I figured that the best option was to go hunting, get involved in the process myself and see how I felt about it. If at the end I felt that killing the deer was fundamentally wrong then I could hardly argue in favour. However the flip side is that it would drill home the gravity of the loss of life and the process that takes a living creature to food on our plates, something that far too many people have disassociated with IMO.

In the end I loved the whole process and the rest is history. That got me into reading about conservation efforts, the benefits of hunting, the need to manage deer and other wildlife properly. It taught me a huge amount of respect for our countryside and the creatures that live in it, it taught me about passion, endurance and patience. I've also met some awesome people along the way and enjoyed some fantastic experiences. Getting out stalking on the weekend is the highlight of my week, I absolutely love it.

Getting the venison is a nice bonus that sometimes comes at the end of the whole process with the positives of being ethically sourced and healthy - But its not the be all and end all.

 

[VSS]

Agreed, I'm at the stage where I actually disagree with it.
The turning point for me was working the dog on a large commercial shoot a couple of seasons ago.
1000 bird weekend, absolute carnage, shooting tame chickens would have been more sporting.

+1

 

[paulbshooting]

Of course out of respect for the harvested animal and we don't eat supermarket meat where possible. The butchering and eating of the venison is all part of being a stalker in my opinion. The surplus go to the game dealer as couldn't consume the qty culled per year. I also take pride from dropping off a well shot, inspected, tagged and lardered beast to the dealer that will go into the food chain.

 

[Monkey Spanker]

no, it’s not a trick question or daft. I’m interested to know how much of a value people put on the venison they can have from hunting. I process venison in many different ways and eat it most days of the week, indeed, aside from liking it, i can’t afford to buy other quality meats very often. I’m making a 20kg batch of venison salami later today, I personally keep and use as much venison as I can realistically handle, the rest sadly ,goes off to the game dealer for the paltry £3 per kg they offer.
Im just always amazed by how many people I meet or know that just seem to stalk and shoot deer and then leave it for the game dealer, they are only interested in a picture and maybe some antlers or the pathetic payment from a game dealer.

Kindest regards, Olaf

That's fair enough, but everyone's circumstances are different. I'm sure there are folk that only go stalking when their freezer gets empty. Whilst I enjoy venison and eat it fairly regularly, I don't really have the time to process it, and could only ever eat a small percentage of what I shoot anyway. If you are getting £3/kg you are actually doing quite well!
Regards,
MS

You must already be registered as a 'Food Business'. Have you thought of processing it further yourself to maximise income?

 

[tikka_madras]

Excellent post Stubear

 

[nicowilson]

For me absolutely yes.

I would argue that in some cases it may not be cost effective and some cases maybe it is. If you have your own ground and can keep some or all of what you shoot then it may work out cheaper than the supermarkets (especially if you compare stalked deer to supermarket venison which is extortionate!), but if you are on a paid stalk and happen to shoot a reasonable sized buck and then pay for the carcass as well it probably isnt cheaper pound for pound and may even be more expensive.

However I think thats completely the wrong reason to go hunting! It shouldn't just be about "well I get my meat cheaper this way so..." These are wonderful living creatures that should be seen as more than walking fillet steak.

I got into it because I didnt like what I was seeing in some (not all) mass production of meat and in particular the wastage. The comment I overheard that kicked me into action down the hunting route was a couple in the supermarket buying food and the guy said "we only need 4 meals this week because we have that chicken in the fridge we need to finish up" and his other half replied "Oh I dont fancy that, can we bin it and get something else?"

I just thought dear Lord! Theres an animal that was probably bred in a barn, fed, grew up and then was shipped away to be killed and butchered and packaged in a little plastic container, only for you two to chuck whats left of it into landfill because you "dont fancy that tonight"?! That was awful!

And then I watched a film called Earthlings - Its an eye opener (although arguably borders on vegan propaganda...) and at the end I thought ok, I agree that was pretty bad and we treat animals pretty badly on average but I still like eating meat - so what to do?

I figured that the best option was to go hunting, get involved in the process myself and see how I felt about it. If at the end I felt that killing the deer was fundamentally wrong then I could hardly argue in favour. However the flip side is that it would drill home the gravity of the loss of life and the process that takes a living creature to food on our plates, something that far too many people have disassociated with IMO.

In the end I loved the whole process and the rest is history. That got me into reading about conservation efforts, the benefits of hunting, the need to manage deer and other wildlife properly. It taught me a huge amount of respect for our countryside and the creatures that live in it, it taught me about passion, endurance and patience. I've also met some awesome people along the way and enjoyed some fantastic experiences. Getting out stalking on the weekend is the highlight of my week, I absolutely love it.

Getting the venison is a nice bonus that sometimes comes at the end of the whole process with the positives of being ethically sourced and healthy - But its not the be all and end all.

This is probably the most sensible thing I've read all day. Thank you Stubear

 

[ileso]

fark me theres some nice fat on that

 

[takbok]

I wouldn't hunt if it wasn't for eating.

 

[stalker.308]

I thought bear was poisonous to humans. I think I heard that on long way down.

Bear is often full of trichinella, which is a roundworm. Causes a lot of issues and is avoided by cooking the meat through.

 

[User00025]

Do I eat venison? I almost live on it. No commercial meat enters this house, except the odd organic chicken.
Venison Liver with eggs and caramelised onions.
Roast or casseroled pheasant with veg.
Venison steak with roasties and greens.
Mallard or partridge roast with veg.
Veni burgers or veni cottage pie.
Sweet and sour rabbit.
Roast haunch of venison plus trimmings on Sunday.

Sample weekly menu chez nous.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I think stubear hit the nail on the head. Can't add much more to it than that

 

[John Gryphon]

WOW - what are you feeding them to get that rind of fat? I thought Australi was meant to be barren!

They are fat indeed and are from wild Fallow bucks in velvet,a mate shot a pair that were frigging up a country garden,only last week.

 

[Olaf]

I thought bear was poisonous to humans. I think I heard that on long way down.

Bear meat is supposed to be delicious, only thing Is that because they are carnivores, like wild boar and domestic pigs, they can often carry Trichinella which is a zoonotic parasite that can cause trichinosis in humans ( little worms that migrate from your gut and eat your muscle tissue and organs until you die badly!
This however, is not a problem providing the meat is cooked properly prior to eating it. I’d love to try some some day ....

 

[Odders]

They are fat indeed and are from wild Fallow bucks in velvet,a mate shot a pair that were frigging up a country garden,only last week.

I've never seen a quarter as much fat as that. Must've been awesome cooked.

 

[John Gryphon]

I've never seen a quarter as much fat as that. Must've been awesome cooked.

And here are the meat animals,mate Ritchie rolled them. He actually wants some of my wild dog heads and agreed to a swap for a full arse end of a Fallow buck in velvet.