Game processing facility opens up in West Berkshire
A new game processing facility, Oakland Park, is due to open in August 2024 and will become the first new facility to open in the UK in 40 years.
From August 2024, stalkers from across the south of England will be able to use the Oakland Park facility at Hermitage for the purchase and processing of game of all species.
The brainchild of estate owner Seton Fairhurst, the plant was developed jointly by stalker John Prince and business entrepreneur Alan Hayward, who has over 50 years’ experience in the butchery and wholesale meat industry. The launch of the facility will be celebrated with an Open Day on 20th July 2024 at Oakland Park.
The new facility has pledged support for the wild meat industry as a whole by promising to donate £1 per carcass to Eat Wild, the development board for all wild meat in the UK.
Louisa Clutterbuck, CEO of Eat Wild said: “This is such huge, exciting news for the industry. Oakland Park is leading the way in venison production and their support of Eat Wild will allow us to continue to spread awareness of the benefits of both venison and feathered game and create new markets for it across the country. I would strongly encourage other processors to heed Oakland Park’s future-proofing example and follow suit.”
“Oakland Park looks forward to providing a place where the stalker can bring his carcasses, whether just one or two, or in quantity.”
John Prince said: “As a stalker, so often I would go out over three or four days and maybe put 10 deer in the chiller, but then I would find that the dealers would not be taking them. Even if they were, they were driving the market down and offering rock-bottom prices. Our whole ethos is to turn that around, and eventually to create a whole new market for game and venison and offer shoots and deer stalkers a fair price for top quality game and carcasses.”
Alan Hayward said: “We are not retail butchers; our market is not even individual catering customers – we are selling to the major catering suppliers. We will be providing a range of cuts as well as products like sausages, burgers, meatballs and koftas, and we will also be selling skinned carcasses into the wholesale trade. Export is high on the agenda but in simultaneous recognition of the enormous demand from individual stalkers, Oakland Park looks forward to providing a place where the stalker can bring his carcasses, whether just one or two, or in quantity.”
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