Venison producers team up to launch national awareness scheme

The campaign will focus on a new day in the food calendar, Eat Scottish Venison Day - 4 September. The website will cover all information including the venison story, quality assurance, health benefits, education pages, and news about Scottish venison. Its main focus will be to direct the consumer to where to buy and where to eat Scottish venison, coupled with recipes from chefs, and recipes and serving suggestions submitted by the public. Restaurants and retail outlets across the UK that sell or serve Scottish Venison are being encouraged to be listed free on the site and should contact dick@playfairwalker.com for more information. Stephen Gibbs, chairman of The Scottish Venison Working Group, said: "This is the first time that all Scotland's main producers of wild and farmed venison have joined together to put their product firmly on the map. We believe that we have a distinct edge in promoting the venison that we produce as Scottish, whether from red, roe, sika or fallow deer, and that is at the heart of this awareness campaign." The Scottish venison industry is worth around £70.4 million pounds per annum, and accounts for 966 direct jobs and a further 1554 full time equivalents, many of these in remote rural areas. The Scottish Venison Working Group comprises The Association of Deer Management Groups, the British Deer Farmers Association, the Deer Commission for Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, and Scottish Quality Wild Venison.