DEMAND FOR VENISON IS GROWING FASTER THAN WE CAN SUPPLY

The demand for venison in the UK has grown dramatically over the last few years with more and more people discovering the many benefits of eating venison. Lower in fat and cholesterol, yet high in protein and vitamins, venison is the new beef alternative. This steadily growing demand however is more than the UK can produce and the Scottish Venison Partnership (SVP) has warned that venison imports could eclipse domestic production volumes in the next five years. Currently, around 3,800 tonnes of venison is produced in the UK each year and the SVP estimates that the UK consumption of venison will grow to around 6,000 tonnes by 2021. However if domestic production only increases by 5% per annum it could see imports double to what they are now to meet the demand and account for almost 50% of the UK consumption by 2021. Although the number of deer farms is increasing around the UK, at this rate we need to increase venison production by a lot more. There are many initiatives to get this moving including the Deer Farm and Park Demonstration Project. Deer management in Scotland alone contributes £140m each year to the Scottish economy and creates 2,500 full time jobs. Deer farming in the UK is therefore something that should be looked into by more people as the demand is definitely there. Our deer farm has been producing venison for over 20 years now and we pride ourselves on our award-winning prime venison which comes from our naturally-reared animals. Venison is a great red-meat alternative and is far more healthy. Our farmed venison is fully traceable and can be supplied all year round making it the perfect meat to eat.