A budget should be allocated to Bord Bia to carry out an analysis of the export market opportunity for Irish venison, the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group (IDMSG) has recommended.
The recommendation was made by the venison sub-committee of the group as part of the final report into developing a sustainable deer management strategy for Ireland.
A “small industry budget” should be allocated to the food board for an export market analysis and a domestic market research project into how to grow consumption of Irish venison.
An Irish venison group, which could consist of representatives of hunters, game dealers and restaurants, should also be formed to promote the consumption of venison, the group said.
Irish venison
A national marketing campaign promoting Irish venison to Irish consumers should be delivered by an industry association, using research insights and Irish celebrity chefs as ambassadors.
The committee also said the season should be reviewed to allow for more deer to be supplied to game handling facilities to create a consistency of supply and to increase the quality of venison.
Under EU regulation, which allows hunters to supply venison to local retail establishments, hunters in Ireland can only supply a maximum of three deer carcasses in a year, the group said.
In the UK a hunter can supply up to 3,000 carcasses in a year, the committee said recommending that the figure in Ireland is increased significantly beyond three carcasses.
The introduction of a system to encourage hunters to shoot more females, which could take the form of a financial incentive to cull female deer, was also recommended.
This could be a subsidy of a minimum of €30/head to be paid on all females presented to a game handling facility during the months of January, February, March and April, the report states.
Venison from female deer is generally better to eat, but the smaller carcasses make them less profitable to process and therefore less attractive to hunters, the committee said.
Deer management
Wild deer numbers have risen sharply in recent years, which has been exacerbated by the reduction in hunting and deer management activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grazing pressure in Irish woodlands is rarely at “appropriate” levels. Overgrazing by deer is a serious pressure and threat for native woodlands across Ireland, the report states.
The IDMSG was set up with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte.
The role of the group was to develop initiatives to ensure sustainable deer numbers while achieving objectives in relation to biodiversity, forestry, agriculture, animal health and road safety.