Daily Telegraph - British diners need to tuck in to deer more

The Stalking Show - 11th to 12th April 2026 - Staffordshire County Showground
EMcC said:
I think people are not willing to try it because of the price, if it were cheaper then more people might be willing to take a chance.
It is still a mind set of some people that Venison, like Salmon and Caviar is the delicacy of the Gentry going back to the days of Lords and serfs.
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It's not expensive.
Yes, it costs more than factory chicken, but it's about on the same level as decent beef.
And on a "per portion" basis, rather than a "per kg" basis it's actually very reasonably priced, because there's no waste in a pack of venison as there is in, say, lamb.
Besides, no-one ever asks the price of individual packs. If they want it they buy it.
 
VSS said:
It's not expensive.
Yes, it costs more than factory chicken, but it's about on the same level as decent beef.
And on a "per portion" basis, rather than a "per kg" basis it's actually very reasonably priced, because there's no waste in a pack of venison as there is in, say, lamb.
Besides, no-one ever asks the price of individual packs. If they want it they buy it.
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As long as chicken is cheaper families with young children will go for chicken or mince to make Spag Bol.
 
EMcC said:
As long as chicken is cheaper families with young children will go for chicken or mince to make Spag Bol.
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There will always be folks prepared to sacrifice quality for quantity, and that is at the heart of a number of the world‘s challenges.

in the race to the bottom chicken twizzlers with ground up bones and artificial packers are cheaper still- it’s a wider mindset piece that needs changing- eat meat less but of higher quality.
 
Venison is a wonderful food. But shooting it with a lead bullet leaves metal fragments from a contaminant that is widely regarded as harmful to health, especially to young children.

Many on SD may not agree with the above statement, but many in the greater general public will. I can see it being just a matter of time before you see “lead being fed to nursery school children” type headlines.

But there are now plenty of non toxic options, so provided these are used then the lead argument is a non issue.

But it is a ridiculous situation when we have food banks, food shortages and perfectly good venison being left in the woods because there is no outlet for it.

Prices and supply of meat products are about to soar again. From any day now there will be full phytosanitary checks on all meat products that will be imported from Europe. Ie every packet of Bacon, or Salami or whatever will have to be accompanied by veterinary certification.
 
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Heym SR20 said:
Venison is a wonderful food. But shooting it with a lead bullet leaves metal fragments from a contaminant that is widely regarded as harmful to health, especially to young children.

Many on SD may not agree with the above statement, but many in the greater general public will.

But there are now plenty of non toxic options, so provided these are used then the lead argument is a non issue.
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Clearly that's true. However, I have never had anyone ask what it was shot with and can guarrantee that none of mine has metal of any type in the venison. It's still a hard sell though.
 
baguio said:
Clearly that's true. However, I have never had anyone ask what it was shot with and can guarrantee that none of mine has metal of any type in the venison. It's still a hard sell though.
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Agreed, but do you ask if there is glass fragments, or ecoli or other contaminants when you buy your groceries from the supermarket?

No you don’t. And you don’t expect there to be.

Have a look at this safety data sheet from Barnes Bullets for their traditional lead cored bullets and see what the manufacturer says about lead-

 
Heym SR20 said:
Agreed, but do you ask if there is glass fragments, or ecoli or other contaminants when you buy your groceries from the supermarket?

No you don’t. And you don’t expect there to be.

Have a look at this safety data sheet from Barnes Bullets for their traditional lead cored bullets and see what the manufacturer says about lead-

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Of course lead is poisonous. However, my carcasses don't have any holes in them at all. Tin hat on.
 
VSS said:
Exactly.
He wouldn't try it, because he  thought he wouldn't like it. Having tried it, he finds he does.
People are so convinced that they're not going to like something that they won't try it.
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There are over 200 types of edible potato, 7500 apples and over 30 UK native edible saltwater fish and yet people only eat maybe one or two of each their entire lives.

People that are (culturally) British rarely if ever eat goat yet it's plentiful and could be farmed in places not suitable for sheep, but it's something different, and people are scare by stuff that's different and uncomfortable (that could be a whole other topic by itself).

Venison fits into that, it's something that's seen as expensive and cooked in a fancy way in gastro pubs and restaurants, rather than an alternative form of red meat that should/could be very cheap if people were willing to expand their horizons. With a big enough marketing campaign it's possible but there isn't the profit in it and then there's the opposition from the current staple meat suppliers who wouldn't be happy with people choosing venison over their beef/lamb/pork etc
 
baguio said:
Clearly that's true. However, I have never had anyone ask what it was shot with and can guarrantee that none of mine has metal of any type in the venison. It's still a hard sell though.
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I have had just one customer ask if there was any risk of lead contamination in the meat (concerned because his partner was pregnant at the time).
I told him that that particular animal had been head shot, so the risk was minimal. About as close to non-existent as can be.
However, I could not claim zero risk. I have found small bullet metal fragments quite far down the neck of head shot deer, and also tiny fragments along the loin (from exiting particles that re-entered).
 
geoffw said:
There will always be folks prepared to sacrifice quality for quantity, and that is at the heart of a number of the world‘s challenges.

in the race to the bottom chicken twizzlers with ground up bones and artificial packers are cheaper still- it’s a wider mindset piece that needs changing- eat meat less but of higher quality.
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It's the same with almost everything in the UK though due to wages lagging behind almost everywhere else in the last 15 years.

Everyone who can put their prices up, have. If there is a drop more profit to be made then it has been, but wages haven't gone up comparitively so no wonder people prefer to buy cheap food or products from China.
 
VSS said:
I have had just one customer ask if there was any risk of lead contamination in the meat (concerned because his partner was pregnant at the time).
I told him that that particular animal had been head shot, so the risk was minimal. About as close to non-existent as can be.
However, I could not claim zero risk. I have found small bullet metal fragments quite far down the neck of head shot deer, and also tiny fragments along the loin (from exiting particles that re-entered).
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I only use the loins and haunches of muntjac so very happy to claim that my venison is 100% free of metal particles. There is no other form of shooting taking place on the land (as you probably know) so no likelhood of shotgun pellets or anything else either.
 
Pretty sure british fine diners tuck into venison often and those that shoot a few and their families likewise other than that very much a minority dish and not hard to see why given its price among other things but guess some can carve out a niche market and make a shilling. Suspect the only reason I eat and love game, rabbits and pigeons been was lucky to have been from parents who enjoyed it also and seemed a natural thing to eat and enjoyed the countryside and shooting.
Given things as they are in recent times had I not been fed such things and not from rural background would say I would probably have been conditioned not to eat such things out of principle and condone those that do.
Folks maybe persuaded to eat more farmed venison if there were good enough reasons but shot a different story. 🤷🏽‍♂️
Edit. Think for some venison is reassuringly expensive😂
 
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G
Bavarianbrit said:
Is "Louisa Clutterbuck, the chief executive of Eat Wild" an April fools day name?
But if stalkers really love to do it they will not need the shekels then they could donate the meat to charities for the homeless to make spag boll with it. This is a popular option in the USA. I accept that they want a return on their spends though.
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Great idea but wouldn't the charities refuse it citing some "elfin safety"
gobledygook ?
 
VSS said:
I have had just one customer ask if there was any risk of lead contamination in the meat (concerned because his partner was pregnant at the time).
I told him that that particular animal had been head shot, so the risk was minimal. About as close to non-existent as can be.
However, I could not claim zero risk. I have found small bullet metal fragments quite far down the neck of head shot deer, and also tiny fragments along the loin (from exiting particles that re-entered).
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With thanks to a colleague, PFA a CT scan of the forward chest/neck/head of a mature Sika stag shot with a 100gr Nossler BT from a 25-06. The round passed through the chest, just above the heart. Note the spread of lead into the lower neck tissue and the few particles that made it up the airway to the larynx - quite surprising………

Adult_male_Sika_head_CT.webp
 
“Highland Game is the biggest processor and marketeer of UK venison. To support our business requirements out of season and thereby provide customers with all year round availability, specific to the scale of retail, we operate supply partnerships with best in class suppliers from New Zealand.”

....."specific to the scale of retail"......Makes it sound like we cannot 'supply' the 'demand' from within our shores?
 
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