Campaign to get game meat in Welsh schools and hospitals

A campaign is being launched to get game meat on the menu in hospitals and schools in Wales.

The Welsh Game Fair will launch the new campaign at their second annual event, which will take place over the weekend of 9-10 September, at Faenol Estate, Bangor, north Wales.

The organisers say venison, pheasant, duck and rabbit are cheaper, healthy options that should be embraced by NHS and school caterers.

See also: So you want to… start producing venison?

James Gower, chief executive of event organiser Stable Events, said it was time to rethink attitudes towards lean, high-protein game meat, which provides a sustainable alternative to other traditional meats.

“Deer in Wales have to be culled every year, to protect their habitats and for the overall health of the herd,” Mr Gower noted.

“They have no natural predator, so if deer were allowed to breed unchecked, the numbers would be so large that they would eat all the local flora and fauna, so damaging our natural ecosystem, and eventually they would run out of grazing areas.

“Once culled, they immediately enter the food chain as a natural source of additive-free meat. This is why game should be valued rather than excluded from hospital menus.”

Nutritious meat

Will Oakley is operations director of one of the UK’s leading suppliers of game meat, Shropshire-based Willo Game, which sources more than half its products from Wales.

A former gamekeeper turned meat supplier, Mr Oakley believes it is time game was as much a part of the menu in hospitals and schools as other meats.

“The consumer is likely to get more nutrition eating a small portion of game than they would with a plateful of other red meat,” he said.

“This could be particularly advantageous in hospitals, where recovering or ill patients may not feel up to eating large meals.”