'Eat Scottish' campaigners target venison Down Under

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 19:54

IT IS supposed to be the monarch of the Scottish glens but up to a third of venison eaten in Scotland is imported from New Zealand.

With demand increasing, particularly as consumers become more aware of its health benefits, Scottish producers are calling for more home-reared venison to be supplied to the domestic market rather than exported to the continent.

To boost the profile of the meat in the UK and encourage the public to think about its origin, 4 September has been named the inaugural Eat Scottish Venison Day by an alliance of producers.

The Scottish venison industry is worth around 70.4 million a year and employs almost 1,000 people, many in rural areas. Although 3,000 tonnes of Scottish venison is produced annually, almost a third is sent to the continent.

But with an upsurge in celebrity chefs and a renewed interest in cooking, UK consumers are buying more venison, which is lower in fat and cholesterol than most other meats. Venison processors, supermarkets and restaurants are unable to meet the year-round demand by just buying Scottish meat, so they are being forced to fly it thousands of miles from New Zealand.

Tony Borthwick, chef and owner of the Michelin-starred Plumed Horse restaurant in Leith has thrown his weight behind the campaign. He said: "I find it ridiculous that we actually import venison from the other side of the world when we have plenty of our own. I like roe deer and when I have it on my menu it's always Scottish. There's no point in not sourcing everything locally."

He added that while some people may not like the idea of shooting, they have to be aware that stalking is massive for the Scottish economy. "We have to support our own industry."

The Scottish Venison Working Group, comprising the Association of Deer Management Groups, the British Deer Farmers Association, the Deer Commission for Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Scottish Quality Wild Venison, has come up with the initiative to give the industry a boost.

Alastair MacGugan, a spokesman for the Deer Commission for Scotland, said: "Historically, venison has been taken off the hill and exported straight away. But now demand is high and we want to keep the value of the food in Scotland."

He added that using local supplies of venison will also reduce carbon emissions by cutting down on air miles. Christian Nissen is managing director of Highland Game, a Dundee-based processor of venison which supplies the major supermarket chains such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Morrisons with a range of products, including venison sausages, burgers and steaks. He supports the industry initiative as he is currently forced to process Kiwi venison.

He said: "There's been an increase over the years in the amount of venison I have to import from New Zealand and it now makes up about 30 per cent of my total production.

"Deer shot by traditional game dealers in Scotland is primarily exported. I'm a Scottish processor, supporting the economy. If I could source all my venison in Scotland I would do so, but to meet the demand from my customers I have to import.

"My ambition is to supply Scottish venison to British consumers, building on demand for local produce and generating jobs in Scotland. Why give all our good venison to the French?"

MacGugan and Nissen say the management of deer is a complex issue and it is not as simple as shooting more beasts to meet demand. In recent years, an argument has erupted between deer-lovers, who regard the beast as the "monarch of the glen", and environmentalists who see it as a plague because of the destruction it causes to the countryside. Landowners have been accused of keeping numbers artificially high so that there are plenty to be shot and deer have been blamed for wrecking native forests and ruining the Scottish landscape.

"There's not too many deer throughout Scotland, there's just too many in certain places. A balance must be maintained to meet the needs of different landowners," said MacGugan.

Another issue is the seasonality of deer stalking which means retailers and restaurants cannot be guaranteed a supply of Scottish venison throughout the year. Red stags can only be shot between 1 July and 20 October, while hinds can be culled from 20 October to 15 February. MacGugan said that one way to tackle the seasonal problem would be to shoot more roe deer, which can be killed all year round, and use more of that meat in the domestic market. He said that another answer would be to farm more deer, rather than rely on animals which roam wild. "We buy in farmed deer from elsewhere. But there are lots of fields which were previously used for sheep farming which could now be used for deer."

Scotland already has a quality assurance scheme for the meat and the Scottish Venison Working Group came up with the idea of an Eat Scottish Venison Day to kick-start the awareness campaign. A website to be unveiled in September will explain venison's "journey from hill to plate" and include recipes from chefs.