Deerkeeper2
Well-Known Member
What training funding is currently available please?
Shoot more Deer !
- Thread starter Chill 123
- Start date
- Status
Face it: Venison is not very popular the UK.
I can’t see a problem. Just shoot what you want to eat.
This “problem” that keeps recurring about not being able to get much money for carcasses is actually a product of greed and jealousy.
You want lots of ground and want to shoot lots of deer, but you also want money back from this?
I’ve said it before: there’s thousands of people waiting to get a little foot in the door, who want to shoot a few deer each year and take the carcasses home to eat with their families.
It’s time we started sharing opportunities with each other and get some young blood into the sport.
I can’t see a problem. Just shoot what you want to eat.
This “problem” that keeps recurring about not being able to get much money for carcasses is actually a product of greed and jealousy.
You want lots of ground and want to shoot lots of deer, but you also want money back from this?
I’ve said it before: there’s thousands of people waiting to get a little foot in the door, who want to shoot a few deer each year and take the carcasses home to eat with their families.
It’s time we started sharing opportunities with each other and get some young blood into the sport.
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
This would work for the hobby stalker who has enough time around every other life commitment to utilise the carcasses in the best way if there aren't too many to deal with. If you're shooting and need the income from them then you may not get enough or have a guaranteed outlet for them in the other methods you suggest.
The issue arises when you have plenty of deer to shoot but not enough time to do anything other than drop them off with a game dealer. It won't be long until for some it's more cost effective to leave the deer where they fall.
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
in your scenarios, you have too much land. charge more for your time and pay for disposal or shoot less deer and let others deal with them.
deer stalking is either a hobby and hobbies cost money, or a job with over heads.
if you want to shoot lots of deer do the extra work
The "cull" beasts on FLS land in Scotland go to Highland Game, so end up in Tesco.
Overlay
Well-Known Member
I believe there still may be funding for the ADM courses, if not there are others linked to deer management
Keep your eye open, there are funds for chillers as well.
Most is accepted compliance to the specification raised but compared to the real cost you are required to put in a rather small contribution it is well worth checking all the time to be honest
I do quite well with disposal of the carcasses at the moment but need to shoot far more than I do. I think the following points are a consideration
1. Ban completely venison imports
2. Encourage food banks and other institutions to use venison
3. Stop buying meat from the supermarket
4. More schemes to give pay for female deer shot
5. At lease 24 months of a season suspension for all deer in England
6. Land owners - no deer control plan - no farm payments at all
I am sure some of this is not possible but we do need to sort this out now
1. Ban completely venison imports
2. Encourage food banks and other institutions to use venison
3. Stop buying meat from the supermarket
4. More schemes to give pay for female deer shot
5. At lease 24 months of a season suspension for all deer in England
6. Land owners - no deer control plan - no farm payments at all
I am sure some of this is not possible but we do need to sort this out now
Or compel the suppliers/importers to declare the carbon footprint from farm to fork on all packaging.
K
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
The venison venison market is not growing in proportion to the increasing cull requirement.
We’re following the exact same path as the driven game industry, where the meat has become a byproduct, with no commercial value because not enough people want it.
The only future I can see for venison is either as pet food, or waste we have to pay to dispose of, slightly buoyed up with the occasional sale into the food chain at rates which don’t cover the cost of production.
We’re following the exact same path as the driven game industry, where the meat has become a byproduct, with no commercial value because not enough people want it.
The only future I can see for venison is either as pet food, or waste we have to pay to dispose of, slightly buoyed up with the occasional sale into the food chain at rates which don’t cover the cost of production.
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
I'm not in any of those situations, I'm just saying others may be. If the landowner wants deer reduced and the stalker isn't dependent on money from the carcasses then why bother giving up their stalking to others or going through the hassle of taking out guests.
It's all well and good supplying others with deer but you have to be consistent in your supply or they get them elsewhere. This then turns something for fun into a job and if the payment is not worth the time and expense then it doesn't make sense to do it.
There is no closed season for Muntys bucks or Does
paulbshooting
Well-Known Member
With that qty of deer being culled there must be someone locally interested to buy and process into venison (aside from game dealers) or setup something yourself. The price up the food chain is decent, with customers - consumer and businesses in hospitality - paying well for simple cuts and more for added value like burgers and sausages.
That is correct, but a lot of people don't bother to stalk them during the summer as the height of the vegetation makes it very difficult to see them.
Carn Bannoch
Member
And apparently we are supposed to be promoting venison. How can stalkers and keepers alike manage to promote the classic "estate to plate"
As disposing of deer carcasses seems to be a widespread issue, could we not instigate a new initiative on our forum ? Would it not be possible for all those selling stalking to allow the stalker to take what they have shot without any further charge ? The stalker would have an incentive and a moral obligation to find a home for what they have shot, whilst those selling stalking have one less animal to try to find a home for.
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
It's consistency that's the issue, and that covers both what species and amount of deer are available throughout the year and in what quality.
Whichever way you look at it the days of seasonal food are long gone and people buying or selling want what they want and they want it all year round and they don't want one carcass that weighs 20kg one week and another that weighs 80kg the next week, one that's been head shot and one that's been chest shot and needs loads writing off.
Farmed deer sell because they're a consistent product just like any other farmed animal. Same quality meat, similar weight and age, killed in an abbatoir etc. Park deer are probably a close second although supply is limited to seasons.
Wild deer sourced through a game dealer is an unknown product that's sporadic in supply, hence the low price. Even selling it cheap as dog food otlr to a local zoo etc you still need to be supplying it on a regular and consistent timing otherwise the buyer can't rely on you no matter how cheap unless they have a way to store it in a freezer etc. Can't just not feed the animals for a week because the stalker blanked, the weather was crap or they hurt their back and couldn't get out.
People used to bother skinning foxes and processing their furs when there was enough money to make it worthwhile, now they're just dumped in a hedge. What makes people think deer will be any different if the price continues to fall? Obviously you can eat venison so some will always make it onto the plate, but the numbers that need to be shot will outweigh the demand, both for people to want to eat and for the demand on their time to want to do anything with the deer post shot.
Supply and demand. Increase demand and the need for supply increases.
For that to happen, wild venison needs to stop being marketed and sold as a premium product at a premium price, to be eaten on ‘special occasions’.
Your average family aren’t eating meat at £20+/kg regularly, especially when they don’t know what to do with it, will probably overcook it so it tastes awful. They might try it once, but will carry on walking to the £4 whole chicken aisle next time.
Dealers should get it made into highly accessible products like burgers and sausages, price them in line with pork/beef equivalents and watch them fly. Whenever I’ve fed venison burgers/sausages to friends most have loved them and, those who dont know, ask where I get them from. They are often disappointed with the answer as they don’t have the knowledge, time, access or interest in stalking. Then further disappointed that I and people like me cannot ‘sell’ them to them. I cannot justify the cost or time to jump through the ridiculous numbers of hoops to become a food business (that’s a whole other issue!).
If it doesn’t make business sense for dealers to process and sell burgers and sausages at volume, then they should be centrally subsidised if they are serious about controlling deer numbers. We’ve been doing it with farmers for long enough!
For that to happen, wild venison needs to stop being marketed and sold as a premium product at a premium price, to be eaten on ‘special occasions’.
Your average family aren’t eating meat at £20+/kg regularly, especially when they don’t know what to do with it, will probably overcook it so it tastes awful. They might try it once, but will carry on walking to the £4 whole chicken aisle next time.
Dealers should get it made into highly accessible products like burgers and sausages, price them in line with pork/beef equivalents and watch them fly. Whenever I’ve fed venison burgers/sausages to friends most have loved them and, those who dont know, ask where I get them from. They are often disappointed with the answer as they don’t have the knowledge, time, access or interest in stalking. Then further disappointed that I and people like me cannot ‘sell’ them to them. I cannot justify the cost or time to jump through the ridiculous numbers of hoops to become a food business (that’s a whole other issue!).
If it doesn’t make business sense for dealers to process and sell burgers and sausages at volume, then they should be centrally subsidised if they are serious about controlling deer numbers. We’ve been doing it with farmers for long enough!
baguio
Well-Known Member
Because the cover gets up and it's hard to see them. Therefore, most are shot in the winter and spring.
- Status
Similar threads
