Frequently Asked questions

• Does your venison come from the Isle of Arran?

Yes, we source all our venison locally.

99% of our venison is directly from the Isle of Arran, 1% comes from surrounding areas such as Kintyre. This is  because Arran only has Red Deer, which is the UK’s largest species of deer. We occasionally feature guest species of deer from other areas, such as Roe and Sika from Kintyre, as they offer different eating experiences for venison lovers.

• Where do you get your venison?

We work with the big estates on Arran to buy deer that they harvest as part of Scotland’s nation wide initiative to reduce deer numbers and protect woodland and moorland.

The number of deer to be harvested each year is set by Nature Scot (a conservation charity in Scotland). This number is divided up into smaller local parcels and handed over to landowners. In turn, the landowners make their own deer management plans.

We step in after this process and buy the deer once they have been harvested.

We also love to work with independent deer stalkers who meet our welfare and quality standards. Often these guys deeply care about the deer and their quality of life. They are always a joy to work with!

• How is venison sustainable?

The natural diet of deer is the new growth of plants and trees. In a balanced ecosystem this is an important role, it has the same effect as pruning in your garden, it helps stimulate more new growth and strengthens the plants. However, just like over pruning your garden, too much of this weakens and eventually kills the plants and trees.

In the UK and especially Scotland, deer numbers are exceptionally high, so their impact on the natural growth of plants and trees is bad. This has lead to the Scottish Government intervening to reduce deer numbers. This initiative is happening regardless, Wild Isle Venison is about making respectful use of the deer that are harvested and creating nutritious food for us humans.

• Where can I buy your venison?

We deliver our venison to shops and restaurants all over Arran. You can see the most up to date info on our stockists here 👈

• Can you buy venison from Wild Isle Venison at the Arran Butcher?

No, the Arran Butcher does not stock Wild Isle Venison. They do stock a good selection of meat from various sources, including venison.

• I’ve got deer coming into my garden, what do I do?

Deer don’t understand the human idea of garden fences and boundaries unfortunately. As we often keep tasty plants in our gardens, according to the deer, they can often wander in for a nibble.

There are many ways of keeping deer out of gardens, such as robust tall fences, keeping dogs, reducing the amount of plants they enjoy eating and blocking up their entry routes.

Alternatively, try enjoying the majestic presence of the deer in your garden. They are beautiful shy wild animals and many people consider themselves fortunate to have close encounters with them. After all, the deer have been here longer than garden fences and will be here long after the fences have rotted away!

• I’ve seen an injured deer, what should I do?

Usually veterinarians will not treat injured deer due to the stress on the deer of being captured and treated. Deer are particularly shy and big, this makes treating them nearly impossible and certainly very stressful for the deer.

Deer are much more resilient to injuries than they are to human intervention. Many deer make full recoveries from injuries that would terrify a human. They often live full lives with recovered broken bones, for example. Hopefully, the deer will not require any human intervention whatsoever.

However if the injury is very severe and the deer has little chance of recovering, say after a collision with a car, a humane dispatch approach will be considered. This is usually assessed and carried out by deer managers who are responsible for the land the deer is discovered on. Wild Isle Venison, the Arran Deer Management Group and the police can help signpost you to the right person to speak to, in this instance.

• There is some roadkill deer by the side of the road, do you want it?

Roadkill deer is a very valuable resource to some folks, but for a responsible food producer it’s a wee bit too risky to consider putting into the food chain.

When we accept harvested deer from our suppliers we check things such as their training and hunter status. Part of becoming a trained hunter is being able to assess the living deer for disease before it enters the food chain. Trained hunters also process the digestive system of the deer in such a way as to prevent contamination of the meat. Roadkill deer do not come with this level of quality assurance so we are never going to be able to accept them.

That said, a private individual who is going to use the roadkill for their own consumption is free to assess the meat for safety as they see fit.

• Is your venison wild or farmed?

Our venison comes from deer that are 100% wild and free ONLY.

We never use farmed venison and never will. Farmed deer do not have the same level of sustainability as wild deer.

As a wild produce, this means no one has tend to the deer as livestock. They are not been given antibiotics, artificial feeds or resource heavy grain. They live a wild and free lifestyle for their entire lives.

• Where are you based?

We are based in Brodick, but we do not have any retail at our premises. You can buy our products from our stockists, see here for more.👈

• How do I cook venison?

Venison is much like beef in the way that it cooks. It is however, much leaner so usually requires a wee bit of fat to be added.

👉 See here for our recipe section for inspiration for venison dishes.

• I have some land and the deer are causing a problem, can you help?

Yes, we provide a free service to anyone who has land and needs deer management or crop protection from deer. The usually process is to give us a call or drop us an email. One of us will have a discussion with you about what you need and then Chris will visit to assess the deer impact and whether or not we can help.

One of our stalkers will be in touch to let you know when they plan to come. We will then process the deer ourselves and sell it locally. This helps us improve our supply of venison and it helps landowners and farmers protect their crops.

• Wont I have to pay "sporting rates" if you come to manage deer on my land?

No, deer management for environmenal or agricultural protection, especially where the venison enters the food chain, is exempt from new Sporting Rates charges. You can read more detail in our article about these charges, here.

• Did we miss anything? Please tell us below.

👉Click here to fill out our wee feedback form to let us know any burning questions you have about Wild Isle Venison.