Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
or a farmed game processing facility to arrive and be
dressed within 1 hour of slaughter, or if the transporter
can be refrigerated to between 0 and 4°C, dressing can
take place up to 3 hours after slaughter. In both situa-
tions, the carcases must be inspected by a meat inspector
within 24 hours after slaughter.
that the shot does not strike the foreleg. If the vertebral
column is hit, the animal will immediately collapse.
Sticking should take place as soon as possible.
Deer may be shot two or three miles from the larder,
and carcases routinely 'gralloched, that is, have the green
offal removed, on the hill. Professional stalkers, as game
processors, are aware of public health aspects and grade
carcases according to presentation. After gralloching,
carcases are dragged to the nearest track and loaded on
to transport. Nowadays, the Argocat has replaced the
traditional deer pony.
On arrival at the larder, the pelvis and sternum are
split; the pluck is removed, including the kidneys; and the
body cavities are rinsed with clean water and dried with
disposable paper towels. The pluck is bagged and tagged
and hung with the carcase, which is also tagged for iden-
tification. The skin is left on. Red deer like to wallow, and
so splitting the pelvis, which is done to aid cooling of the
haunches, is now discouraged as this can often lead to
unacceptable contamination with mud and hair.
The temperature of the venison should be 7°C.
Portable air conditioners are now used in many larders.
The carcase should be delivered with its pluck to the
game plant within 24 hours of shooting.
After skinning, which is normally performed on a
cradle, the carcase is examined by a veterinarian.
Disease is frequently less of a problem than contami-
nation. Contamination with gut contents results from
poor shooting and poor gralloching, particularly if the
rectum has been imperfectly removed. In the case of
poorly shot animals, large quantities of rumenal contents
may be carried in the wake of the bullet under the scap-
ula, leading to forequarter condemnation. Deer shed
hair very easily and contamination with hair is another
serious problem. Hair debris is best removed with the
use of copious water. The professional stalker is the key
person in the production of clean game venison.
The heart, liver and mediastinal lymph nodes are
incised, and the kidneys and lungs are palpated. Any
abscesses are treated as suspect TB, although only 0.1%
of carcases have been found to be affected, predomi-
nately with the avian strain. Typically lesions range from
small, chalky, white foci in the liver or lungs to miliary
abscesses, throughout the carcase. TB in deer was made
a notifiable disease in Great Britain in May 1989. Feeding
indoors can exacerbate the incidence of mycobacterial
infections.
Occasionally tumours, milk spots and flukes are seen
in the liver. Fluke infection is rarely serious, not normally
producing the same degree of pathology as in cattle and
sheep. In the rut, stag livers are often very pale. Cardiac
lesions are rare. Pneumonia is also rare, although roe
deer are very susceptible to the lungworm
Protostrongylus
park deer
Wild mammals living within an enclosed territory
under conditions of freedom similar to those enjoyed
by wild game (i.e. deer parks) are not considered to be
farmed game.
Most deer park owners operate a culling system in
which the deer are shot as they graze. After shooting, the
carcase is immediately bled and eviscerated and trans-
ported to the deer larder for completion of dressing.
Small numbers of deer handled in this way can be sold
direct to the consumer but are subject to public health
checks provided in national rules.
Where a deer park culls large numbers of deer or
where the carcases are sold to wholesale establishments,
the construction and hygiene requirements and the
timing of the operation are detailed in the Wild Game
Directive 92/45/EEC, Regulations (EC) No. 852/2004
and 853/2004. In general, after shooting and bleeding,
the carcase is eviscerated, and the viscera are identified
with the carcase. It has to be dispatched within 12 hours
to a processing house. Alternatively, the carcase and vis-
cera can be dispatched within 12 hours to a collecting
centre where they will be chilled and maintained at a
temperature not exceeding 7°C until dispatched to a pro-
cessing house within a further 12 hours, with certain
exemptions for remote areas. All parts must be inspected
within 18 hours of entering the processing house. Wild
game meat declared fit for human consumption must
bear a health mark.
Wild deer
Game venison is seasonal, with 50% of the red deer
output occurring over a 4-week period.
Venison is low in cholesterol; the fat is not marbled
through the muscle fibres although it still has a distinc-
tive flavour.
Killing
In England and Wales, the legal firearm for culling deer is
a rifle with a calibre of at least 0.240 in and a muzzle energy
of at least 1700 foot-pounds, firing a soft-nosed or hollow-
nosed bullet. Deer are shot either in the neck or chest. A
chest shot should ensure rapid unconsciousness due to
blood loss. When aiming at the neck, novice stalkers are
often advised to err on the high side in order to ensure
