WILD VENISON ON JURA – SCHOOL MEALS PROJECT
THE PROBLEM
There are approximately 6000 wild deer on the island of Jura, and 200 people. Large numbers of wild deer present an environmental challenge for landscapes and wildlife habitats. Excessive deer grazing can destroy vegetation, reduce woodland regeneration, damage peatlands, reduce heather cover and result in a loss of biodiversity. In order to maintain a stable, healthy population of deer and avoid ecological damage, a cull is required each year and the estates on Jura are obligated to fulfil this requirement, as agreed with NatureScot based upon game and land management principles.
Venison meat is a nutrient dense food, providing a rich source of protein and high levels of amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron and zinc, whilst containing low levels of saturated fat. Venison is a culturally relevant and appropriate food for the people of Jura, in addition to being hugely popular with tourists visiting the island. There is a high level of demand for this local, cultural food product on Jura and Islay. However, whilst Jura deer are being culled every season, the venison meat is not accessible to local people on the island as there is no commercial butchery or processing facilities available.
A ROUTE TO MARKET
Catherine and Andy McCallum recognised the demand for local venison, combined with the lack of processing and butchery facilities, and have created Wild Jura, a food business set to make venison accessible to all on Jura and Islay. They have built a processing unit that is the home of Wild Jura. The premises contains a chilled larder with a rail system for hanging deer, skinning and butchery areas, walk-in chilled and frozen storage rooms, an office and a demo kitchen. It has solar panels on its south facing roof and a micro-hydro generator linked to the water treatment unit. They will source wild culled deer from Ardlussa, Barnhill, Tarbert and Ruantallain Estates.
LOCAL FOOD IN SCHOOL MEALS
Food for Life Scotland has facilitated meetings between Wild Jura and Argyll and Bute council. The council is very keen to support the development of local and seasonal food supply and have worked with the company to create dishes to be added to the three week menu cycle.
Small Isles Primary pupils took part in product testing and the pupil favourites now form part of the menu cycle – venison burger and venison meatballs. The venison meatballs and venison burger are available in the five Primary school and Early Years units and one Secondary school on the islands of Islay and Jura.
Recipes have been developed in compliance with the Scottish Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools and the Food for Life Served Here standards. All pupils are offered a tasting portion if they choose an alternative option on the day the venison products are available.
Procurement was via Public Contracts Scotland. Wild Jura is a start-up company, and the first orders on their books was for all schools on the islands of Islay and Jura.
The project will be monitored, and if Wild Jura can support additional orders, the project may be expanded into other parts of Argyll and Bute from August 2025
We believe this is the first time wild venison will be served as a regular dish on primary menus in the UK.
FEEDBACK
Councillor Ross Moreland, Argyll and Bute Council’s Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services:
“We’re thrilled to introduce wild venison to our school menus on Islay and Jura. It’s a no-brainer to make the most from such high-quality, locally sourced produce. The demand for local wild venison has always been high, but without butchery facilities, it wasn’t feasible until Wild Jura came along.
Our pupils have been integral to this pilot, from learning about sustainable produce to testing dishes and deciding what to add to the menu. As we work towards creating a climate friendly Argyll and Bute, this is a fantastic example of field-to-fork quality local food that eliminates air miles and is cost-effective.”
Andy and Cath McCallum from Wild Jura:
“We are delighted to be supplying Wild Jura venison to the six schools on Jura and Islay. This has been a fantastic and unwaveringly positive collaboration between the catering department of Argyll and Bute Council, the Soil Association and us, with valuable help from the children and teachers at Small Isles Primary School and our own, very exacting, three-strong tasting panel at home.
As we all become more aware of the benefits of fewer and fresher ingredients in our foods, it is great to see the council offering our products in their school meals. Food miles are extremely low, processing is minimal and additional ingredients are organic or free range. We are grateful that these benefits are recognised and are now being enjoyed by local children, whom we have a collective responsibility to feed with care.”
Feedback from Children:
‘Having venison for the first time in school was great, especially because it’s locally sourced and good for the environment and everyone absolutely loved it!’ – Ruby
‘I loved the venison burger because it was so good and tasted amazing. It was also great to be part of the taste testing!’ – Joseph
‘The Wild Jura venison is amazing. It’s so much nicer than a normal burger. It’s locally sourced from our beautiful Isle of Jura, going straight from the hill to your plate! At first I wasn’t a big fan of venison but tasting the burgers and meatballs has completely changed my view. Also having a taste testing session really helped with knowing what I liked.’ – Grace
‘It’s the best burger’ – Rosie
‘I loved it! It was the first time I tried it!’ – Poppy
‘9/10, it was very tasty’ – Matthew
‘It was really good, 100/100!’ – Maja
