Donate 50p to spread the word about game meat
It’s a small amount, but if everyone who shoots gives that sum to the Back British Game initiative, it could help the game meat market boom.
Eat Wild is asking those who shoot to donate 50p for each bird they bag this season to its Back British Game initiative. It has launched this campaign with the hope of ensuring the longevity and health of the game market. Donations will be used to help market wild meat throughout the UK to increase demand for sustainable game.
Over the past five years, Eat Wild has introduced hundreds of thousands of people to game via new commercial outlets, events, campaigns, recipes, collaborations and communication across social media. During this time the game market has expanded by 7% and the organisation now promotes venison alongside feathered game.
Working with Aim To Sustain Assurance — which transferred from British Game Assurance (BGA) in 2023 — Eat Wild ensures only meat that has been reared and handled to the highest welfare and environmental standards is promoted. This helps producers self-regulate, while reassuring consumers that their food is high quality, sustainable and ethical.
Louisa Clutterbuck, CEO of Eat Wild, said: “If we want our grandchildren to enjoy eating, shooting, producing, selling, or working with game… We need to pay today or there will be no game tomorrow. Put simply, shooting cannot thrive without a market for the birds and deer we shoot.
“We need to invest in British game by raising the awareness of its benefits.”
Modern markets for game meat have long been fragile due to difficulties with logistics chains. Historically, irregular supplies of game meat have made it complex for large-scale, high street distributors to consistently stock it and thus build the market. Stocks are improving, however.
Leon Challis-Davies, culinary director at Eat Wild, told ST: “We have made huge progress over the past few years in developing markets for wild meat. The Back British Game initiative comes at a time when shooting faces numerous external challenges so it has never been more important to support this cause.
“Donations will help solidify supply chains and contribute to further educating the public on the benefits of consuming British game,” Leon added.
As part of the Back British Game initiative, Eat Wild is asking the shooting community to “Join in This January” to introduce new people to game. As a response to Veganuary, representatives can take birds in the feather to their village hall, invite anyone to join and teach them how to pluck, butcher and prepare game.
