In the UK they decided to feed children and prisoners venison for a strange reason

A number of children’s institutions in the United Kingdom will now serve food containing wild deer meat. The British Bushmeat Council has developed five meals which will be distributed to nurseries and schools across the country in the coming months. They plan to give such dishes to children twice every three weeks.

In order to cope with the growing number of wild deer, children’s educational institutions will be offered venison dishes. A caterer says little ones should “experiment” with food.

Tops Day Nurseries, which runs 32 nurseries across Dorset and Hampshire, recently introduced venison to its lunch menus as part of its Eat Wild campaign.

The UK Wild Meat Council has developed five meals which will be rolled out to other nurseries and schools across the country in the coming months.

Outlining the new menu to parents, Top Days Nurseries explained on its website that children would be given two wild meat meals twice every three weeks, amounting to a total of 3,000 meals a month.

Top Day Nurseries nutrition manager Pete Tthofis explained that 4,000 British children will be trying venison for the first time in dishes they are already familiar with, such as spaghetti Bolognese.

He added: “We think we should try wild food and experiment with our food diversity. Food should be fun, interesting, new and delicious! After a little research, we found that the nutritional value of game was excellent and contained less fat, as well as the same amount of protein and nutrients (vitamin B₁₂iron and zinc), as well as common domestic meats such as beef, chicken, lamb and pork.”

Top Days Nurseries’ menu includes venison spaghetti Bolognese and orzo casserole (a type of Italian pasta that looks like grains of rice). Wild game meat is rich in iron, protein and omega-3s, but low in fat.

In addition, kindergartens are experimenting with game pies, rolls and burgers for children.

Speaking to The Times, Eat Wild CEO Louise Clutterbuck shared how venison is currently sourced from two estates in the South Downs: “The deer population is out of control so there is absolutely no problem with supply, there is currently an oversupply “

There are now up to 2 million wild deer in the UK after a two-year pause in culling during the pandemic, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

With no natural predators, the rapidly growing deer population has negatively impacted forest biodiversity due to overfeeding.

The UK’s deer population will continue to rise, according to Eat Wild. So the organization decided to turn its attention to the education sector, which had almost never used wild meat in its kitchens before.

The expert added: “We’re trying to create more demand, and rather than people seeing game as premium, Michelin-starred meat, we want it to be served in the local pub and then taken home and cooked midweek.”

In addition, the organization is also trying to supply bushmeat to prisons and sports stadiums to combat deer populations.

In 2021, it was reported that deer cause £45 million in damage to cars each year. The animals also cause an average of £20,000 of damage to agricultural businesses a year, affecting crops.

Eat Wild culinary director Leon Challis-Davies added: “There are many reasons why including wild and sustainable meat in school menus is so important. However, it is very important that we get the younger generation to eat more nutritious and vitamin-rich foods to help them develop. Wild meat is not only healthier, but also more environmentally friendly than what we currently consume. This is a huge win for the rural community and we look forward to taking it to the next level and introducing bushmeat into higher education and beyond.”