Advisory panel set up to bring Welsh game meat to the fore
The Welsh Game Meat project’s advisory group met for the first time recently as it works to bring game meat to the forefront for consumers in Wales.
The advisory group is made up of figures from organisations from across the shooting and countryside community, land-based environmental bodies, rural skills development agencies, agricultural unions and land owners and managers.
The project has been set up to identify and evaluate the potential for developing a professional, sustainable and vibrant Welsh game meat market. The project will produce an independent study that that will build capacity, create new clusters and establish a base to support subsequent projects to improve Welsh game meat supply chains in areas such as education and skills, working practices, infrastructure, product development, standards, tourism and consumer promotion.
Tim Russell, director of conservation for British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and chair of the Project Advisory Group, commented: “It is fantastic to see such strong support for this project that has potential to reap social, environmental and economic benefits across all parts of the Welsh economy. We will aim to draw together as many people as possible to understand the challenges and opportunities and uncover ways in which together we can develop a sustainable and thriving Welsh game meat supply chain.
“Through the project, we will support greater coordination and sharing of knowledge from the primary producers, ranging from small local shoots to larger commercial businesses, to a variety of suppliers such as local butchers to businesses buying game meat for processing and selling on to shops, restaurants and other hospitality providers,” Russell continued.
“It will be vital for the project to engage with a wide range of primary producers and key suppliers and we welcome their input to help make the most of the opportunity that this project affords. As the project gains momentum we will be looking to extend membership of the Group to key interested parties from the producer and supplier communities.”
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