Food For Thought

The oversupply of game meat is a hot topic on shoots this season, and rightly so. Phil Moorsom looks at what efforts are being made to better utilise this healthy food source

- Rough Rovers

There is no question that interest in shooting is increasing which is fantastic news for the future of fieldsports in the UK. Not only does this help those businesses involved in the industry, but it also strengthens our collective voice to combat those whose ultimate intent is to ban game shooting as a whole.

On almost every shoot we have visited this season, one of the hot topics has been the shift in demand for shot game and how it is processed. With the rising popularity of game shooting, new shoots have emerged and many of the existing ones are moving towards bigger bag days as the business becomes more competitive. The obvious result of this is that significantly more birds are now being shot and have to be responsibly processed. One major supermarket chain is rumoured to have over 50,000 pheasants from last season in its freezers.

Only a few years ago, game dealers were offering up to 50 pence for a brace of pheasants, whereas this year if a keeper is receiving anything at all for his shot birds he is one of the lucky ones. In the future, most agree that it will be the norm for shoots to pay game dealers to collect their shot birds and process them responsibly.

The commercial shoots putting on large days several times a week must shoulder a large part of the responsibility to tackle this issue. Rumours of holes being dug or incinerators being installed to dispose of shot game is manna from heaven for those lobbying to ban the sport as a whole. The most obvious and simple solution to this issue is for us to eat more game. Thankfully, many of the commercial shoots have now started to address the problem by preparing and selling their own game either as a whole dressed bird or in pre-packaged prepared sauces.