In a few days time I will be going on my first Deer Stalk. I do not know what will happen on the day itself but if I am lucky I will stalk deer, shoot deer, gralloch the deer and hopefully take the carcass home for me to butcher and provide food for my family.
Alternatively, I could spend several hours in the stunning Scottish countryside, stalk no deer but come away with knowledge in something that I find fascinating and I’m keen to learn more about. I’m not hear to wax lyrical about hunting, this isn’t what this post is about as I know many friends and family don’t quite ‘get it’. That’s cool though, I expect that and I appreciate it because for the best part, people don’t agree with hunting and this is partly why I am so keen to learn more about Deer Management.
I booked my stalk about 4 weeks ago and it’s all I can think about. I’m nervous and excited all at the same time. It’s completely new for me but it’s something I want to learn more about, not just because I love cooking and eating venison but because I feel that shooting does get a bad name.
Maybe if people had a greater sense of the damage that these animals can cause to the landscape, farmland and farmers crops then maybe they would accept why certain animals need to be culled? I for one like to know where my food comes from, I like to imagine that the chicken that I bought from the supermarket has led a truly free range life instead of living in a cramped barn with little to zero daylight. Thankfully I am not naïve and I know fine well that my chicken, pork of beef has come from an animal that may not have had the best journey before it reaches my plate but as you tuck into your roast chicken or what have you, do not judge me for wanting to shoot a deer.
You see, a deer is an absolutely beautiful animal and is an iconic creature here in Scotland, my homeland. A deer has lived freely in the wild, it’s eaten what it’s wanted to eat, it’s roamed the land openly and lived a pretty good life. It’s lived such a good life that you can truly say that deer is the ultimate free range animal and therefore, venison is free range.
Isn’t it fantastic to know that the food I will be providing my family with is 100% free range and has eaten organically its entire life? For me, that is what it is all about.
I can hear some people say “no animal should be killed” and I respect those who say believe that and this is where the Deer Management and Culling process really interests me.
Imagine this:
You are an arable farmer, you have acres of land where you grow your crops. This is your livelyhood, this is your bread and butter and your sole means of an income. This is how you provide for your family. Over a period of time you start to notice your crops are being damaged/eaten. You notice deer have been on your land and causing this damage, which ultimately affects your crops. If your crops are affected then your sales are affected and your ability to provide is impacted. What do you do? You take action to remedy the problem….and this is why Deer need to be managed. They need to be managed as ethically as possible.
Scenario two could play like this:
You are a Deer Stalker, you have been informed by a land owner that an injured deer has been spotted limping and action needs to be taken, what do you do? Well, the most humane thing anyone can do in this situation is put the animal out of its misery. Some would say this is cruel but what would be deemed cruel is to let the animal suffer and eventually succumb to its injuries. An ethical shot should be taken to ensure the animal suffers no more and the reality of it all is that sometimes in life you have to be cruel to be kind.
I’ve barely scratched the surface here and this is exactly why I am keen to learn more about Deer Stalking and Deer Management as I find it truly fascinating. At the end of the day, if my stalk is successful and I come away with a Roe Doe in the boot of my car, I know deep down that the food provided to me by the animal I have shot has lived the best life compared to some ‘free range’ hen that Tesco sells for £5.
The sole purpose of my journey into Field to Fork cooking is have more respect for the food I am consuming. I am a firm believer that if you shoot it then you eat it, otherwise what is the point? If I am able to provide my family with food I have sourced with my own hands: prepared it, butchered it, cooked it, then I have achieved what I set out to do and I am ok with that.
I must reiterate, I am not a professional writer/cook/butcher. I’m merely a guy who wants to be good at something and have a sense of pride in the work I have done. I love to cook so why not go that one step further?
I end this massive blog with a photo of a beautiful Stag that my friend, Mark, shot (with a camera) whilst on holiday in Glen Etive. You can follow him on Instagram: @markscatesphotography.
Despite the title of this blog, I am aware the photo is not a Doe….doh!
Thanks for reading
Keith
Field To Fork Food 