Venison price is ridiculous

This would be a superb solution for both stalker, and consumer. The very best produce, sourced and consumed locally. What's not to like about that model?
Given it doesn't happen very often, my guess would be that nobody wants to take the risk in funding the gear or take the time/effort/cost to process and market the venison.

Much easier and cheaper to whinge.
 
Sorry, I just checked my notes, and it was £60/kg, not £65. That was for direct sales, if I remember correctly.
And yet, as I understand it from my reading on BARF etc, deer antlers (less caribou) are too hard for unsupervised dog's teeth, with potential for expensive, painful damage for your best friend. Ditto weight bearing deer bones (leg).
I refuse to sell them or give them away on that basis. Instead the antlers go to my workshop for casual furniture making and it's the ribs/vertebrae that go to dogs.
 
I have been fortunate enough to take a few animals over the season. One in my ill informed situation I brought to my nearest game dealer (154 Km round trip) who is paying €1/kg neck shot or €0.68/Kg chest shot. The beast weighed 48.5 Kg dressed out (Sika stag). Since then I have only taken Sika hinds, which I butchered myself (I have completed & passed the appropriate course). Could not give the meat away, offered it to a number of friends and neighbours. Only one friend took a couple of joints and a fair bit of liver. The rest my son and I consumed (enjoyed every morsel) it was delicious. My friend and his wife have requested resupply as the opportunity permits, but have said how much they enjoyed both the meat and the liver (the wife was a little hesitant at first). Given such an experience I can see why the stalker gets very little for the product, yet when enjoyed at a dining establishment it commands a premium price. I understand that the game dealer I brought the carcass to, exports the vast amount of his products to the continent, there so little demand here in Ireland.
For the foreseeable future I'll be utilising the meat myself. Fortunately I love stalking and so does my son, it would be sinful to waste the venison when one is successful, but not a hope of reimbursing ones costs.
 
I'm not surprised the price of deer is so low, people wouldn't dream of buying this over beef at 1/4 of the price. Deer is easier to process than beef, and readily available, but dealers pay peanuts for it and expect the public to pay through the roof
Come and have a look at the price of it at a London Butchers. It is £16 a KG for stewing meat near me!

Some one is making out liek a bandit in the trade.
 
If you look at the Forestry and Land Scotland’s annual report you will see that they have agreed to sell up to 1,000 tonnes of venison to Highland Game ltd. They can retain 5% for sale through their own outlets. In 2020 review it stated that 792 tonnes had been supplied to Highland Game under this contrast. Total revenue from deer management operations including sales of venison was £2.6m. So do the maths and its not a lot per kg of venison.

When you have a major public sector player such as FLS agreeing to such terms it will of course have a huge effect on the rest of the market.

You do also have to consider that actual quantity of saleable meat that can be recovered from a carcass - probably about 1/3 of the weight of a carcass supplied in the skin - so thats about 290 odd tonnes of venison bought for £2.6m.

Edit

I have just looked up the annual report. The above was taken from the year to March 2020 report.

Interestingly they have just published the year to March 2021 and there is no mention of the contracts, nor the amount of venison sold, nor the revenue from venison sales. Seems they want not shine a light on this:

 
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I have been fortunate enough to take a few animals over the season. One in my ill informed situation I brought to my nearest game dealer (154 Km round trip) who is paying €1/kg neck shot or €0.68/Kg chest shot. The beast weighed 48.5 Kg dressed out (Sika stag). Since then I have only taken Sika hinds, which I butchered myself (I have completed & passed the appropriate course). Could not give the meat away, offered it to a number of friends and neighbours. Only one friend took a couple of joints and a fair bit of liver. The rest my son and I consumed (enjoyed every morsel) it was delicious. My friend and his wife have requested resupply as the opportunity permits, but have said how much they enjoyed both the meat and the liver (the wife was a little hesitant at first). Given such an experience I can see why the stalker gets very little for the product, yet when enjoyed at a dining establishment it commands a premium price. I understand that the game dealer I brought the carcass to, exports the vast amount of his products to the continent, there so little demand here in Ireland.
For the foreseeable future I'll be utilising the meat myself. Fortunately I love stalking and so does my son, it would be sinful to waste the venison when one is successful, but not a hope of reimbursing ones costs.
Reimburse yourself with good food, and pleasure taken by others in the food that you have provided.

Then add up what that venison would have cost you if you were buying free range meat from the butcher / supermarket.

I have about 3kg of venison hanging up to dry as biltong.

Here you can buy venison biltong at £29.50 per 500g.


So I reckon I will get a bit over 1kg of biltong from what is drying. Well that’s £60 just there.
 
If you look at the Forestry and Land Scotland’s annual report you will see that they have agreed to sell up to 1,000 tonnes of venison to Highland Game ltd. They can retain 5% for sale through their own outlets. In 2020 review it stated that 792 tonnes had been supplied to Highland Game under this contrast. Total revenue from deer management operations including sales of venison was £2.6m. So do the maths and its not a lot per kg of venison.

When you have a major public sector player such as FLS agreeing to such terms it will of course have a huge effect on the rest of the market.

You do also have to consider that actual quantity of saleable meat that can be recovered from a carcass - probably about 1/3 of the weight of a carcass supplied in the skin - so thats about 290 odd tonnes of venison bought for £2.6m.

Edit

I have just looked up the annual report. The above was taken from the year to March 2020 report.

Interestingly they have just published the year to March 2021 and there is no mention of the contracts, nor the amount of venison sold, nor the revenue from venison sales. Seems they want not shine a light on this:

it's the income for "forest protection" shown on page 80. £1.1m
 
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