It’s not nice when dead deer are hanging on metal hooks in the cooling chamber. The idea that wild animals are in unequal combat when hunting is correct. You have no chance if the hunter is in command of his rifle. Still, one has to conclude that hunting is one of the best options to feed people with meat in the 21st century. If not the best of them all.
The most common alternative: chickens, pigs and cattle are kept in large farms before they are processed into bulk goods in the slaughterhouse under stress. Often the animals had a life behind bars. The aim is to produce a lot of meat in a small space in a short time. After transport routes that are difficult to understand, a turkey breast from Poland ends up in a 500-gram tray in the Bavarian discounter. Price: three euros. When does the appetite for such offers die?
There is the option of doing without meat. And there is the hunt. The forest animals live in freedom until they are shot dead. You can move freely and are not dependent on the contents of the trough. The result is natural creatures with untreated meat. If you order from the local hunter or at the nearest venison sales point, you will receive regional goods, the origin and production of which is clearly indicated on the label.
There remains a counter-argument when it comes to consumption: the flavor of the game’s native aroma is vulnerable to attack. A common prejudice. Whether it is grilled, roasted or cooked, with game as with any type of meat, three things are important: quality, preparation through correct hanging and pickling – and professional preparation. The best proof: At Christmas the saddle of venison is suddenly celebrated as something special. Why only then?
It won’t be because of the Christmas bonus. Game costs significantly less than, for example, beef. In many parts of Bavaria one of the cheapest organic regional products is available. A low-fat, healthy form of meat, even on the grill. In the eco-scene, which is dominated by vegan and vegetarianism, too little is placed on this. Hunters and foresters could shoot and sell more game if there was demand.
The forests, where deer are sometimes a plague for young trees, would be helpful. Now that the closed season for fawns and goats is over, the hunters in the Ebersberger Forest and all over Bavaria will kill young animals again. That doesn’t sound nice. Nevertheless, it would be good news if the demand for roe deer rises outside of the Christmas period.