New Project to Focus on Improving Low Ground Venison Supply Chain
A new venison
project
launching this month
will
explore
ways
to
help
low ground
deer
managers
improve the infrastructure for handling
and chilling
venison
carcasses
and
increase
throughput
.
T
he pilot project will
assess
additional
potential outlets for the venison produced
,
and
interrogate
any
barriers for these
initiatives
, as well as
possibilities for
part
-
funding
of
small and
micro
-
scale
chillers
.
The £119k pilot fund
,
secured by NatureScot and
SAOS (
the Scottish Agricultural Organisation
Society)
will see SAOS
working
closely
with
Lowland Deer Network
Scotland
and
Scottish
Venison.
Funding of up
to
50% of capital costs will be available to successful applicants.
Application
for
funding
is through
a straightforward process
,
with
a
n
assessment panel
then
select
ing
successful
projects.
John Bruce,
Chair
of Lowland Deer Network Scotland
,
explained
their
initial
involvement
: “LDNS
undertook a survey asking deer managers about their vital venison handling capacity
, in
particular
the
ir
chilling requirements
.
We had
125 responses
, with
70 requir
ing
support for
improved facilities,
six
looking
to open commercial processing facilities
,
and the
remainder
seeking
access to simple approved facilities which would permit their carcasses to advance
into the public food chain
. T
hese people estimated that their cull
c
ould increase by 1,000
animals a year
with these improvements
. This new pilot project will make a positive contribution
to addressing
the
issue
s
.”
Pete Moore
of the
NatureScot Wildlife Management Team
added
: “Over the last few months, we
have listened to the views of the deer management sector about the need to increase funding
for venison supply chains, particularly in low ground parts of Scotland. This pilot scheme is a
positive step forward and will provi
de direct support to deer managers in these areas to improve
infrastructure and increase venison production, with the potential for this to feed into the wider
market.
The project should also give
us further insight into the possibilities, and potential
barriers, for improvements to the low ground venison supply chain in future.”
Richard Cooke, Chairman of Scottish Venison
,
commented on
the
project
’s potential
: “This is
an excellent initiative, building on the work already underway with the three pilot chill projects in
Dumfries & Galloway, North Argyll, and Moray
,
which are supported through the Covid Recovery
Fund. It is also absolutely in line with the Scottish Venison strategy to develop capacity for safe
and legal collection, chilling
,
and processing of venison locally across Scotland’s low ground
,
with a view to increasing the harvest of venison from our roe deer population and getting that to
market as a priority.
We look forward to seeing some interesting projects coming forward for
support.”
The scheme is open for
submissions
from stalkers and
groups
from
January 31
st
and
will
run
until March
20
th
, w
ith success
ful applicants
notified by
the end of
March.
SAOS staff
are
available to help
with applications,
initial enqu
iries should be directed to
venison@saos.coop
-
Ends
-
NatureScot
:
NatureScot is Scotland's nature agency. We work to enhance our natural
environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it. Our priority is
a nature
-
rich
future for Scotland and an
effective response to the climate emergency. For more information,
visit our website at
www.nature.scot
Lowland Deer Network Scotland:
LDNS is a defined network and forum in which lowland deer
managers have a voice and national representation. It provides a mechanism to sense check
and ground truth, with lowland land managers and deer stalking practitioners, the new areas of
policy develo
pment and changing legislation against a backdrop of the increased focus on loss
of biodiversity and the climate emergency. LDNS is essential to help facilitate information
exchange and provide opportunities to improve awaren
ess around changes to legislation,
policy, best practice for venison and the management of deer.
Scottish Venison
is the representative organisation for private and public sector, producer and
processor, upland and lowland, and wild and farmed venison interests in Scotland. More
information at
www.scottish
-
venison.info
SAOS
was established as a Society to further co
-
operation in Scottish agricultural organisations
in 1905. While co
-
operation remains key, this remit has expanded to strengthen the position of
Scotland's farming and rural businesses in their supply chains, thro
ugh innovation, technology,
data, quality assurance and climate change response. SAOS is a co
-
op, owned by around 60
member co
-
operatives whose collective turnover is nearly £1.5 billion.
