Jeez,
more hassle,....here's how it works with the game dealer I use.
1.shot the beast
2.Gralloch the beast and discard intestines.
3.Give Beast good inspection when removing heart/lungs/liver,which are kept for Dealer.
4.If satisfied with 3 above sell to game dealer.
5.Game dealer repeats step 3 while weighing / storing,tagging beast and internal organs for further inspection if exporting etc.

What could be simpler?...game dealers see thousands of beasts a year and wouldn't pay anyone anything for that which was no good,so any bad venison shouldn't be getting in the food chain that way.

just more red tape.
going to buy shares in the company that makes the tape for the E.U

Roebuck 222

jbderunz,

I fear you are right! I don't know of any cases where wild game has caused anout break of food poisoning in the UK, but still we have the nanny state trying to "protect" us..

Regards,

Pete

Dear Pete,

I am growing mad because of these weird regulations. I am a biologist and then feel competent. I spent twelve years studying at the university,however it had been decreeted I am not competent.
We would have to inspect every game : general aspects, coat, emaciation, internal organs�s aspect and samplings if need be.
The trouble is administration is omnipotent, growing fast and greedy
I wanted to train local hunters,.......no value. We have to obey the administration.
For every wild pig, we must get them inspected in search of Trichinella and will have to pay. I wanted to be permitted to search Trichenella (my aim being to search for free or the cheapest as possible) no way, administration�s monopole and greed.
It�s just the beginning my friend.

Shawn,

I would say I am pretty Conservative by British standards and consider the only decent thing done by Tony Blair is to stand by GW in Iraq.

The UK�s relationship with Europe is quite a complex one and far from black and white. We joined the EEC in the 1970�s, after a national referendum, when it was basically a free trade agreement. I was way too young to vote then, but I have no problem with Free Trade Agreements..in fact I wish we had similar with the USA, but that�s a different issue.

Since our joining the EEC, it has basically �mutated� by gaining more political power. These changes have been gradual but they have mounted up over the years. The next big issue for the UK will be whether to give up more of our own Treasury powers and adopt the Single European Currency, which I, and most people I know, are very against.

Blair has resisted holding a referendum on this at present as he knows he will probably lose, but its predicted that it will happen in the next Government term, should Labour be re elected. This is because the ultimate aim of some pro Europeans is a �United States of Europe� which again I am very much against.

To be fair, from the UK perspective, especially from someone who is an ordinary working guyr, joining the EEC/EU has not been all negative. The European Court in particular has been useful in stopping Blair, and previous Governments (both Tory and Labour) running rough shod over the little guys in the country on certain matters.

Getting back to the issue of game meat. In the UK, I would say its not very popular with the average housewife. This is partly because in the past, carcasses which had been badly shot and badly handled went into the Gamedealer who then sold it on to pubs and restaurants. This meant that Joe Public�s first taste of game was often disappointing and off putting.

Things are different on mainland Europe and game meat is far more popular. I have read somewhere that as much as 80% of venison sold to British gamedealers ends up being exported to Europe, Germany in particular. Given how much game-meat from across Europe ends up in the commercial food chain, I can understand the need for some regulations; I mean would you eat beef if it had been treated like some hunters in the US treat their deer carcasses? Also as meat is shipped across national borders some sort of control is I suppose needed to prevent the spread of animal disease which could bbadly effect farmers.

To complicate matters further, the legislation concerning venison ending up on the British market is different (ie less stringent) than venison destined for export to Europe. This latest revision of the various legislation is designed to change that and to make them more uniform and also close a few loop holes in the present laws.

The trouble is that what starts as perhaps as a good idea often ends up with over administrated and often badly framed legislation.

With regards prices, in British butchers and supermarkets, venison is seen as luxury item and is far more expensive than a similar cut of beef. However, when we as stalkers sell a carcass to a game dealer, we get a fraction of that.

As an example for a Red deer carcass still in the skin, but with the head and feet removed, I normally get about $.50 a lb, while a roe carcass will often go around $1 per lb. These prices do of course vary across the country and fluctuate according to supply and demand.

By law we can only sell venison to a �licensed� gamedealer although I have to say that some stalkers tend to ignore that at times!

Venison for own use, or if you are giving it away, is out side the scope of all this regulation and you can give it away pretty much as you please.

Regards,

Pete