Could deer hunters ease the UK's hunger crisis?

The UK's deer population is at its highest level for 1,000 years, and is growing exponentially. Now at roughly 2 million animals, the UK’s deer stalkers need to cull at least 750,000 animals a year just for the population to stand still. There are also more food banks in the UK than ever. As the need for food grows, donations, especially those containing protein, become harder to find.
To combat these two problems, the Country Food Trust has created a supply chain from deer stalkers all over the country to food banks that need protein-rich donations. The Guardian environment correspondent Damien Gayle follows the process from forest to foodbank, to see if venison could provide an answer to Britain’s food shortage.
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#Deer #Hunting #FoodBanks #CostOfLiving #UK #News

[@theGuardian]

You can donate to the Fitzjohn’s community food project in Lewes via this link: airtable.com/app3Ct5S7Bu19VJOc/shrNzGDQ2ECCq2Kfv

[@PINKAS1]

People who are uncomfartable eating wild game/deer but will gobble down on some store bought chicken or cow that has lived in tiny dirty industry cages will always boggle my mind

[@olivermoore7020]

It could well be a class issue/mindset. Venison has historically been expensive and seen as a luxury food - so the concept of eating it could be quite alien to a lot of people from low income backgrounds.

[@vegan_victory]

Both are completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@paulhank7967]

​@@vegan_victoryYou do you. I'll do me. Don't force your lifestyle on others.

[@TolerablyInterested]

It's shocking, I think it's reflective of a lack of understanding regarding how food goes from farm to plate, so many people don't know further than "I buy it at the supermarket". In reality the standard of the food and animal welfare in locally shot game is leaps and bounds better than the chicks used for processed chicken, but as a nation we have terrible education regarding agriculture and food at both the production and consumption end.

[@vegan_victory]

​@@paulhank7967 Animal rights is the most important thing. Think of the animals. Go vegan for the animals.

[@colbykinney5633]

In America we have a organization called Hunters helping the hungry. Hunters donate the deer they harvest and they pay for the processing. They have donated over a million pounds of meat to the homeless and less fortunate.

[@vegan_victory]

This is completely wrong and unethical. The lives and rights of animals is the most important thing. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@spammodump]

@@vegan_victory No.

[@colbykinney5633]

@@vegan_victory what vegan organizations have donated over a million pounds of food?

[@Shreddittrading]

​​@@vegan_victory Apparently some people dont grasp the concepts of satire and sarcasm

[@peter2023]

You can't own venison unless from a commercial co in the UK

[@ReijiSakamaki]

Hunting is so much more ethical than farming. Farming reduces the quality of life of animals tremendously, often stuck in barns never let outside, stuck in high density numbers which impacts their psychological health, and often requiring fields of just grass which limit the amount of wildlife that can co-habitat there. Hunting on the other hand allows the animal to live as naturally wild as they can before they're used to feed people, requires an intimate relationship with nature and gives the animal every chance to use it's senses to prevent it's self from being shot. Farm animals have no such luxury, shoved into an abattoir with no chance of escape. Hunting is the most ethical way you can eat meat, and should be far more wildly accepted in this country imo.

@ReijiSakamaki Is it not pupular in the UK? It's quite expensive in Switzerland, and almost seen as "fancy" food. I love it.

[@toyotaprius79]

Gun happy at best But sure, it seems better than industrial farming but it doesn't address the biodiversity collapse from land misuse

[@Vipus2501]

Please do tell how you are gonna feed over 67 million people that way? 🙄

[@Gabbro_1]

@@Vipus2501 30 million hunt the other 37 million.

[@scottowensbyable]

I raise cattle and hunt wild animals. There is nothing unethical or immoral about hunting or raising meat. But Im the one actually living on a farm and living in the natural world every day. People who live surrounded by urban cultures and the "safety nets" that it provides are almost never going to understand how this works. There is a lot of bigotry/arrogance towards rural communities. I live in the American midwest.

[@aidanmccarty437]

Some hunters are cruel and barbaric, but the vast majority of us are thoughtful and reflective on the subject. Nature is brutal. Predation is a part of it. No predation is unnatural and leads to massive destruction, waste, and suffering. Venison is an extremely healthy meat and a great protein source. Public access to hunting has done more to manage and conserve wild and semi-wild areas in North America than anything else. Even if you prefer to not eat animals, that fact is inescapable.

[@vegan_victory]

This is completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@sigmundstenhaug2301]

I know a lot of hunters, but I have yet to meet a cruel and barbaric one. How do one recognize a barbaric and cruel hunter??

[@HaileyDooo]

A barbaric and cruel hunter is not a hunter it's a poacher who is cruel and barbaric

[@stephenbarlow2493]

No they're not, you've obviously never met any. I have. Nature is not brutal, and it is a completely false depiction of nature. What's more, in the UK, hunting does not mean shooting, it means pursuing prey on horseback with hounds. I have no position on eating meat or even shooting. I have shot myself, albeit a long time ago. Modern shooters, often throw their prey away, because they can't stand preparing it.

[@Trgn]

There should be better regulation for hunting. Promote precise painless hunting method and ban the like of machine gunning down hogs.

[@christopherhiggins8238]

Meat is meat folks... now I draw the line at dog, but I had smoke horse meat in Kazakhstan that was delicious. At first I didn't want to try it, but as the US Army Interpreter for that function, I didn't want to insult our hosts. I am glad I tried it. I even had goat stew in Curacao in the mid 90's...

[@tomindenver1331]

I would always joke, however, that in a pinch, my dog wouldn't draw the line at me.

[@jamiecurran3544]

@@tomindenver1331 lol!😂👍

[@jamiecurran3544]

Horse meat aperently a million French people couldn't be wrong however its not a thing in the UK, its only used for dogfood and in glue factories lol!🤣😂👍

[@AdmiralReering]

It's weekly in my lunchbox😂 bit of butter, nice bread... Belgium tho....

[@jamiecurran3544]

@@AdmiralReering lol!😂👍

[@user-qt6fq5vd2h]

In nature, they are eaten by predators. But the predators were destroyed earlier.

[@thijsjong]

Wolves and bears. Also a lot of people hunted to. The lady saying its wrong is brainless.

[@GingerNinja-os7lj]

@@thijsjong yeah I mean meat is meat it’s supposed to be eaten so why would eating venison be wrong?

[@vegan_victory]

@@GingerNinja-os7lj Animal rights is the most important thing. This is completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@GingerNinja-os7lj]

@@vegan_victory if I’m gonna eat something I’m not going to care much about it’s right I’m just going to eat it

[@zealwarriorgaming5315]

@@vegan_victoryso we just let deer over populate and destroy the ecosystem?

[@hamishharper2322]

there's such a disconect to how people think their food arrives on the table. Smarted person in this was the forestry manager.

[@vickisnemeth7474]

Finally someone acknowledges FOOD DONATIONS NEED PROTEIN!

[@vegan_victory]

This is completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@colbykinney5633]

​@@vegan_victorydo you know how a deer dies in the wild? They die by cold, starvation or getting eaten alive. All of which is a terrible brutal way to go. Most deer shot by hunters die in seconds if not instantly. You may not agree with it but it's a fact. Also how many critters do you think die when a field is plowed? It's hundreds if not thousands per square mile.

[@redskyatnight123]

​each to there own but you being a vegan are weak

[@ibexdnb2879]

​​@@colbykinney5633 They won't listen. They have a moral high ground on meat eaters. The facts fall on death ears mate.

[@OctagonOutcome]

​@@vegan_victoryrelax 😂

[@davewebster1627]

At least they are not treated with drugs and are eating a natural diet

[@e4t662]

I live in New Hampshire, USA. archery, muzzleloader, and rifle season provides.. I've packed my freezer with Venison to enjoy throughout the winter for years. Saves money on groceries also, brilliant idea.

[@vegan_victory]

This is completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@jenb2393]

​@@vegan_victorywrong dude

[@ddoherty5956]

Hope you realise how lucky you are 👍🇬🇧

[@jamiecurran3544]

@@ddoherty5956 indeed if I'm ever in America I'm going round his house for lunch lol!🤣😂✌️

[@CountydeerstalkingCoUk]

Venison is wild, sustainable, free range and non intensively farmed. What's more it is low in calories, high in protein and the healthiest form of red meat that you can eat. Well done to SJ for helping to promote this as a source of protein for those in need.

[@MoorlandMarksman]

Nice to see your comment here, I really enjoy your videos!

[@CountydeerstalkingCoUk]

@@MoorlandMarksman thanks, appreciate the comment!

[@-xirx-]

Better get Fenton on the case!

@-xirx- FEEENTOOON! FEEENNNTOON!

[@mistermelorious]

Lol youtube asks if this needs trabslatibg into english​@Balearique

[@oscarius4]

Great piece, shame they ground the meat into a liquid basically. People need to remember that for cows you have big featureless bio-depleted landscapes. With managed deer populations we can have wild landscapes that also produce food - as an ex veggie who now eats venison, big recommend to others out there who are vegetarian for environmental reasons.

@oscarius4 Better than throwing it away. Maybe making it to ground meat is the cheapest option.

[@armadspengler2717]

@ It didn't look like ground meat - more like a pulp... What a shame for that high-quality meat...

[@vegan_victory]

This is completely wrong and unethical. Save the animals! Go vegan! 🌱

[@HaileyDooo]

@@vegan_victory what do you think will happen to animals when we go vegan ? Don't you understand wildlife needs to be managed especially in areas where there are no natural predators

[@HaileyDooo]

@@vegan_victory hunters give more money to animal conservation than an animal lover or vegan ever will

[@ddoherty5956]

Venison is a super nutritious food due to their range and not just being fed from exhausted soil. We need more forest's not more housing estates!

[@jamiecurran3544]

I completely agree!🙂👍

[@johnkeenlyside993]

Venison is delicious and everyone should be eating it!

[@xxjones]

In my country venison is a normal part of the food chain, mostly through restaurants, where it is prepared according to traditional recpies. It is high quality organic meat.

[@DontUputThatEvilOnMe]

This is what happens when no one hunts and there are no natural predators. Certain animal population explode.

[@matth7448]

this is one thing the US actually does well

[@Will_3rd]

To think people were arrested for poaching deer in the past and now hungry people don’t want to eat it?

[@microcolonel]

They're not hungry... look at the woman who's complaining; all 20 stone of her.

[@notme1345]

Yet the majority of venison consumed in the UK is imported from New Zealand!

[@CC-vf4ew]

Mad isn't it.

[@williamnelson2228]

Unless you can make it look like horrible takeaway food British people ain't going to eat it.

[@tristanbrownhill8698]

There is so much game food out there. Really would solve alot of problems if we got more of it into the general food chain.

[@mistermelorious]

Seriously, I have been arguing this for the last 15 years, back then I was called some right wing prepper nut.

[@Grendeloak]

To sort the food crisis you first need to replace the corrupt incompetent politicians who caused it. Get rid of all the unnecessary red tape regarding imports and food production, allow planning permission for people to start smallholdings and live on their land producing local meat and veg .More land for community farms in and out of cities. More farmers markets with food banks for people to bring and donate. Donate food from supermarkets that is approaching end of date. And yes full and eat invasive species.

[@oliverwilson11]

On what land? If the land is already being industrially farmed then you're unlikely to increase its productivity by turning it into smallholdings unless those smallholders are spending all their time growing very labour intensive crops.

[@duncanbananatyne3890]

@@oliverwilson11 Massive estates owned by upper class and royalty where they just have lawns and box hedges, pasture for horses and other nonsense. Animal agriculture is the worst use of land, be better off with bananas🍌🍌🍌

[@jamiecurran3544]

@@duncanbananatyne3890 yeah I agree!🤔👍

[@jdjones4825]

Im skint and hungry, but thankfully not everything is two deer..

[@jdjones4825]

Release the wolves

[@andrewpritt8739]

In Pennsylvania America we eat deer meat and go hunting a lot if you live in the country side especially

[@IndianaJoeChannel]

P.s. we all should be out hunting getting back to basics its a skill that has kept man alive for hundreds of thousands of years.. n one day it might keep u alive when u need it..

[@Stelios78910]

Really great video, dealt with sensitivity. I’m hungry!

[@mossy6144]

And finally an piece from mainstream media that get s close to the real benefits of game harvesting, well done.

[@Andrew-jm4tp]

Humans have eaten deer since prehistoric times. The unprecedented, new and weird thing is a human who would refuse to eat a deer.

[@Benluigi]

I don't know what to make of this report.... The big supermarket chains throw absolutely loads of food away each day because they refuse to give it away or let it go for next to nothing, when they do reduce the price significantly enough it's near the end of the day when most of it will end up in the bin.

[@MrG77]

American hunters must be watching this going crazy why we are not using this valuable resource. They wreck havoc if not controlled. 🙏

[@yawgreymills1587]

Wow this could be very helpful

[@bigmastertyrone]

Some picky beggars at that food bank, no real hunger in site...

[@rayf7108]

What an awsome opportunity for Scottish buisnesses i do hope this ends up in local shops and supermarkets in support fir the food banks

[@georgerobartes2008]

Doeskin has an international market as well as the fabulous meat , excellent in sausages .

[@bryn1890]

"A lot of young lads are called Boris. Probably some girls as well."😂

[@QuestForGood]

🤣🤣

[@Waverunner21]

As someone from the state of Wisconsin here in the United States. I find it extremely odd to see such aversion to eating deer. Deer are extremely populous here in Wisconsin and a vast number of people who live here hunt deer. I’ve eaten venison since I was a small child. It’s an amazing nutritious and clean meat. I would definitely recommend it over supermarket meats.

[@fishinglad1644]

Education is the key here. People need to know the facts. It’s not an all out slaughter on deer, but a sustainable management to benefit all animals, flora and fauna- including deer. Here’s a fact- 74000 car accidents a year in the uk involving deer. If you’re on the fence, just think of all those things I’ve mentioned. Not to mention it’s a wild source of meat that had a wild happy free life without being given antibiotics or other drugs.

[@MarkWilliamsANDPR]

Why is it you can get venison free in a food bank but in the supermarket, on the rare occasions when it appears, it's £18/kg?

[@tristanbrownhill8698]

I believe the vension at food banks are provided by charities free of charge.

[@thegrumpykitchenfitter]

because the majority of venison in supermarkets is farmed in New Zealand then flown halfway across the planet. ridiculous when the country is overrun with wild deer, but there is too much red tape to allow stalkers to sell direct to mainstream outlets. you're not going to get much more free range meat with a low carbon footprint than locally shot venison.

[@jodyjorchard]

And the venison in supermarkets is likely to be farmed.

[@MrG77]

Venison Bolognese. Thats better than i am eating today .😂😂

[@tombutler4184]

How did it get to the point, where people in Tory heartlands are begging for food? Where the products of pest control, in the form of charitable handouts, are presented as a solution? At what point do you decide that something is systemically wrong?

[@MrMigido]

Credit.

[@pemj7360]

Over in the forest of dean there's another over run and that is wild boar but we cant hunt and eat . .

[@R-dh7sc]

An interesting story, but I am amazed this made it to film: @7:44 the journalist pronounces the word 'asked' as 'aksed' - what has happened to your standards @theGuardian?

[@peter2023]

LYNX is the best choice for a predeter to control muntjack , the days of the general population allowed to hunt are gone ,in the UK 🇬🇧 you can buy venison from a commercial business , but not own it

[@wobblybobengland]

What a headline! This editorial is off it's block. Half a million admitted to hospital with iron deficiency? Loony.

[@jarrettbobbett5230]

Things getting that bad over there?

[@julianfarquhar]

Great idea to feed people a high nutrition food.

[@TerryConspiracy420]

. *Oh Deer!*

[@brendatenorio5721]

Medieval times, eh.

[@GeorgeMoore55]

Hi Brenda!🌹🌹 How are you doing?

[@lastofthemouchers8873]

Beem saying this years. Over a million over population of deer

[@ajcinstalls]

PLEASE DO! SEND VENISON TO N.IRELAND PLZ!

[@gammamaster1894]

Bambi has done a lot of damage

[@TrangleC]

There is a hunger crisis in the UK?

[@sid35gb]

In 14 years the U.K. has gone from 1 food bank in the country to more food banks then outlets of McDonald’s. This has been caused by the Conservative government.

[@ianc7866]

No. Not judging my the size of the people in the food bank.

[@michaelbardill5310]

Why are most of the folks in line for food banks sooooo corpulent & chunky😅😅😅😅

[@lobstermash]

Because they live on refined carbohydrate which is the cheapest staple - bread, pasta, rice, etc. It is fattening but not filling - you feel hungry again a short while after eating because the food isn't satisfying.

[@IrnPgn]

People need to get a grip!

[@sallyraynor8984]

Has the Guardian gone bankrupt yet?

[@jsmill6173]

Ya know in America instead of wondering if it would work, we go ahead and do it. Check out hunters for the hungry 😬

[@GG-mu4wg]

The least forested country in Europe? What a joke, this is completely unrealistic

[@lat1419]

Ive long eaten culled deer from the New Forest.

[@mothersoul1]

in the 40’s Americans used to hunt local animals instead of starving

[@nathanwayne89]

I love venison but its too Deer

[@Outta_Towna82]

😆

[@spammodump]

Couldn't help but notice that the three women using the food bank were overweight....

[@bigmastertyrone]

its expensive to feed such units

[@marpintado]

Hunger crisis in the UK??? I know you are again the poor man of Europe but is it that bad after Brexit???

[@treeaboo]

The cost of living crisis has been brutal to many people, but this was an issue that was growing even before Brexit.

[@Dark_Bandon]

The rich toff have stolen all the money and stashed it in offshore bank accounts.

[@sid35gb]

14 years ago there was only 1 food bank in the U.K. now there’s more then branches of McDonald’s.

[@tomo_ka3040]

only in the uk can you convince the population to resort to hunting

[@jordanpitts1257]

It costs £2 for 1kg of chicken wings. Is that expensive?

[@GeorgeMoore55]

Hi Jordan 🌹🌹 How are you doing?

[@clockwise104]

They do taste nice

[@bakedbean37]

I'd have no objection if someone wanted to drop a side of Bambi off here every once in a while. Just to help out.

[@Chertoff88]

Well I live in Montana and i never buy meat at the grocery store, most of my meat is hunted Elk or Deer. So yes, yes it would definitely help

[@footshotstube]

fk me they getting it free !! thats top quality prime yumminess from personal experience in wales herefords scotland and east sussex plus they overpopulate the SE , wich hasnt much woods left

[@simonwood5587]

Harvest regular supply fresh venison. Sell to higher end purveyors of game food at higher market prices. Use 100% of the revenue to purchase food more palatable to the masses. Chicken , beef, whatever. Donate all this to food banks. Toffs get their game. Proles get their traditional meat. Everyone happy. Win win situation.

[@Maurazio]

the problem is that once you have the money in your hands, it's much more difficult to donate it

[@RichardEnglander]

'Toffs'? 😂

[@user-cq2qw7dg6z]

Hunting for food not trophies is great.

[@The_Dude_Rugs]

Absolutely ridiculous that anyone would turn down free nutritious food like that just because “Bambi” maybe some of these people should experience real hunger then see if they turn anything down…

[@elendal]

UK has hunger crisis? You guys need some donations?

[@nancymesek]

They can thank the Conservative Party for the need for so many food banks.

[@napalmhotdog4365]

Yep, nothing to do with what’s happening in the world. And we can certainly expect labour should have done a much better job. Sure they’d be onboard with the idea of game as food as well….

[@ddoherty5956]

Wage stagnation and high prices are Tiny Blair's fault, I blame the Tory's for doing nothing about it and I was an ignorant labour voter for 20+ years. Not anymore

[@brc9064]

There’s not more deer- people are moving and displacing the deer - they come to what was there area for food and find people 😳😵‍💫😣😣

[@skenksnfmela2749]

With recent story of deer zombie virus on the global rise, this feels like set up for some weird deer caused dystopia

[@SEXYINBLACK33]

I agree

[@tristanbrownhill8698]

I believe that's in the states.

[@eklim2034]

oh deer

[@gee7689]

NEVER! WHY DON'T YOU TRY A SOYA BEANS FOR A CHANGE!

[@petethedoodler]

So now there is a hunger crisis 😮 more like an elitest greed problem.

[@jazzeroo8885]

these people wont eat fresh venison but would happly eat a big mac

[@lucasvillanueva3026]

Some of best meat about!!!

[@i.jwilson2885]

6:01 Beggars can't be choosers.

[@christianwolf7726]

How strict, legal taxation and a social overcoming of the caste system could save British society.

[@GeorgeMoore55]

Hi Christian🌹🌹 How are you doing?

[@pedallinraw]

Hunger crises 🧐🤔??????……Rice? Pasta? Potatoes?….Quinoa?….Cous cous?….to name a few staples….😏🥳

[@yollycatbagan2916]

Why no hair net while cooking

[@user-kh8be6vg8l]

While we continue to take the land for more and more houses, the wild life is pushed further into tighter area , we, the humans are the problem, not the deer,

[@xavier01110]

The deer are literally the problem. They have destroyed the environment through excessive grazing.

[@user-kh8be6vg8l]

@@xavier01110 then stop building houses and free up more land, but you lot are more interested in killing,

[@tytzup5397]

What hunger crisis?

[@jamesfrearson9630]

this looked brutal as. if we eat an animal do we remember something died so we could live? does it even occur in our emotions? not judging, do what you need to.

[@Takh1]

The UK has fallen!

[@jbikedh]

yes it could we don’t need wolves.

[@edmundblackaddercoc8522]

Folk will eat anything if they are hungry enough.

[@vhs10907]

Every whole food contains protein. Unless the food banks are distributing ultra-processed "food" only, the patrons are getting protein.

[@treeaboo]

A whole food is just food that hasn't been processed, many whole foods contain basically no protein, some contain a bit, some contain a lot, meat is a whole food that contains far far more protein than most others. Using 'whole food' as a judge of protein intake is practically meaningless.

[@vhs10907]

"Every whole food" as in my reply includes meat. I said nothing about not including meat. You are correct: sodas and juices are examples of ultra processed "food" which I said have no protein. Whole foods of all types contain protein. You need to speak to the reply I gave. You did not.@@treeaboo

[@jonathanhicks140]

Not all proteins are easily digestible by humans, meat proteins are but our guts are designed for a vegetable diet (we aren’t ruminants who chew the cud & have compartmented stomachs), so many of the nursery in vegetables are lost as they pass through the gut without being absorbed. Meat is easily digested by the human gut as we evolved to eat it & it’s what allowed us to develop as humans.

[@Titiandtheband]

Or stop letting in tons of people without skills the country needs

[@jempettit9075]

Judging by the size of some of those people they could do with going on a diet! They certainly don’t look hungry😂😂😂

[@gobacktohell6062]

King Charles could sell a quarter of his immense ill-gotten fortune and the crisis would be solved

[@jonathanhicks140]

For this week maybe, what then? Anyway there are far richer individuals than him in the UK. Really we should just be ensuring that the massive multinational corporations pay the correct amount of tax & not allowing then to avoid it the way they currently do.

[@kathachareonpong2001]

I though British eat deer since before the roman got there? Why wrong?

[@paxundpeace9970]

We could send some packs of wolves they could help.

[@michaelwalker1964]

Can't wate