Quality assurance scheme launched for wild venison

Applications opened this week for the British Quality Wild Venison (BQWV) standard, in a drive to build resilience and buyer confidence in the wild venison market.

The BQWV is the first quality assurance scheme for wild venison produced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It ensures that a set of audited standards are met throughout the supply chain process. 

Applications are open to both producers (deer stalkers and managers) and processors (Approved Game Handling Establishments (AGHEs)).

The BQWV seeks to further strengthen the resilience of the wild venison market, increase buyer confidence and support woodland management by addressing the problems posed by a large deer population.

The scheme is aimed at those producing and dealing with large quantities of venison and will include annual assessments, with applicants required to demonstrate compliance with the standards.

Welcoming the launch of the standard, BASC’s head of deer and woodland management, Martin Edwards, said: “BASC has worked alongside other stakeholders to get this standard to the start line. As has already been seen in Scotland with the Scottish Quality Wild Venison standard, this version has the capability to bolster confidence in the wild venison market leading to stability and expansion.

“With retailers increasing the demand for quality assured wild venison at the top of the market, producers should feel the benefit of helping the deer management sector at the start of the chain.

“No-one will be expecting overnight change, but the standard has the potential to open doors and see wild venison reach its full potential. BASC will be pushing uptake of BQWV at each step within the market.”

To learn more about the standard and to apply, visit the BQWV website here.

BASC launches the BQWV standard’s group scheme

Within the BQWV standard, BASC has created a group scheme to help reduce the costs and administrative burden on deer stalkers and managers. The scheme is aimed at those shooting up to 300 deer per year.

Martin explains: “In order to make the standard as accessible as possible, BASC has created a group scheme that will keep the administration and costs as low as possible.

“The scheme will open the door to a new market for those larger producers who manage a significant proportion of the UK deer population.”

Ministerial support

At the launch of the BQWV standard, Defra Minister Trudy Harrison said: “We must develop ways to manage deer more sustainably if we are to meet our tree-planting targets and protect our precious woodlands and biodiversity. This announcement is an important step towards achieving that aim and creating a thriving market for British wild venison.”