Just Heard a Rumour, M and S to sell Lead free Pheasants

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Now off looking for a link.

https://www.gunsonpegs.com/articles/shooting-talk/s/shooting-news/this-is-not-just-any-pheasant-this-is-m-s-pheasant?utm_source=Game+Card&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Feb23rd&utm_id=GunsOnPegs&utm_content=CTA

[Smokersmith]

I'll wager they've put a lot of work into making sure they're steel free also !!

[moondoggy]

It will be meat free pheasant next!

[Walker570]

Excellent. Needs more food magazines and newspapers to also put up how to cook info as well.

[RCB56]

It's just a shame the season's over.

[Old farrier]

Hopefully they will pay a premium price for the game 

im not holding my breath 

here’s the rub it’ll only take one gun on a day to fire one lead cartridge and the whole bag will be condemned 

there’s bound to be a diehard on the team that won’t use a alternative along with the same old argument it’s not banned yet I’ve stockpiled enough to see me out there never going to check them all along with all the other carp that they can think of 

so basically it’s just a normal blowing in the wind article 

I shall watch with interest 

[Scully]

That’s good news! 👍

[snow white]

Is a young mom with 2/3 kids going to buy a pheasant for tea that will feed two people or a chicken that will feed the family I don’t think so the price and the kids will determine what’s for tea

[Scully]

34 minutes ago, snow white said:

Is a young mom with 2/3 kids going to buy a pheasant for tea that will feed two people or a chicken that will feed the family I don’t think so the price and the kids will determine what’s for tea

I doubt a Mum in those circumstances is a typical M&S target; Mums in those circumstances are more likely to buy a chicken from Aldi, as would I. 
M&S will have done their research prior to any decisions. 

[marsh man]

33 minutes ago, Scully said:

I doubt a Mum in those circumstances is a typical M&S target; Mums in those circumstances are more likely to buy a chicken from Aldi, as would I. 
M&S will have done their research prior to any decisions. 

We had a very similar thread last year when I said the super markets could end up dictating what cartridges are loading with on some, if not all the commercial game shoots that off load the game to the dealers , Waitrose already sell lead free game and now I can see most of the super markets following suit.

[Scully]

Just now, marsh man said:

We had a very similar thread last year when I said the super markets could end up dictating what cartridges are loading with on some, if not all the commercial game shoots that off load the game to the dealers , Waitrose already sell lead free game and now I can see most of the super markets following suit.

Quite; literally calling the shots.
As I’ve said elsewhere, if supermarkets won’t take lead shot game, then game dealers won’t buy it. It’s that simple. 
 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

35 minutes ago, marsh man said:

We had a very similar thread last year when I said the super markets could end up dictating what cartridges are loading with on some, if not all the commercial game shoots that off load the game to the dealers , Waitrose already sell lead free game and now I can see most of the super markets following suit.

Aldi had a very small amount over Christmas.

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, Scully said:

Quite; literally calling the shots.
As I’ve said elsewhere, if supermarkets won’t take lead shot game, then game dealers won’t buy it. It’s that simple. 
 

I can't see it affecting the smaller shoots as the price of game isn't going to change overnight , the only thing that will dictate the price of shot game is the amount of game shot , most small to medium shoots with bags between 50 and 100 can give most of the game away to the guns , helpers and land owners  , over a 100 it start getting harder as we can only eat or give away a certain amount but then whatever is left is not worth taking to a dealer who is still buying lead shot game , I know for a fact that one game dealer near me who was still buying a bit of game the last month of the season was paying 30p for a hen and 40p for a cock bird and that according to some was a good price .

[Scully]

Our small syndicate just shares the bag amongst the guns, so I can’t see us giving up lead shot anytime soon. 

[Poor Shot]

6 hours ago, Smokersmith said:

I'll wager they've put a lot of work into making sure they're steel free also !!

This! If eating game ever became popular for the masses then I imagine that some enterprising poultry farmers will spare a shed for a few months and raise poults directly for slaughter. Cut out the shoots and their flakey food handling procedures. Probably more profit in raising game birds over your standard broiler chicken. I can also see a market for farm raised venison.

I would be surprised if this didn't already happen given you can buy ready prepared meals with pheasant year round.

[marsh man]

18 hours ago, Poor Shot said:

This! If eating game ever became popular for the masses then I imagine that some enterprising poultry farmers will spare a shed for a few months and raise poults directly for slaughter. Cut out the shoots and their flakey food handling procedures. Probably more profit in raising game birds over your standard broiler chicken. I can also see a market for farm raised venison.

I would be surprised if this didn't already happen given you can buy ready prepared meals with pheasant year round.

I did hear years ago when game was making good money that the Eastern Bloc countries were during exactly that , rearing game then sold on to the public without any shot in , now I doubt if it would pay with the low value and the lack of demand .

I also knew a old duck decoy man whose lively hood was catching wildfowl and sending the neck rung duck up to London to get the premium price , now it would never be allowed and if it was it would no longer be possible to make a living from it , another way of life we can only read about in the history books .

[Scully]

45 minutes ago, marsh man said:

I did hear years ago when game was making good money that the Eastern Bloc countries were during exactly that , rearing game then sold on to the public without any shot in , now I doubt if it would pay with the low value and the lack of demand .

I also knew a old duck decoy man whose lively hood was catching wildfowl and sending the neck rung duck up to London to get the premium price , now it would never be allowed and if it was it would no longer be possible to make a living from it , another way of life we can only read about in the history books .

The days when people would buy game in feather or fur are long gone; and while we live in an affluent society those days won’t return. People will eat most things as long as someone else has done the processing. Even chickens wouldn’t sell if they suddenly appeared in the shops entire. 
I can recall my Dad breeding rabbits for food; the shed at the top of our garden was full of hutches, but mixi put paid to that. 
Rabbit is still a common and popular dish in many mainland European countries, but the only ones I could and still can sell, go for pet food, and that’s only if I process them first. 
Feathered game will never be able to compete with chicken or Turkey from a monetary point of view. 

[marsh man]

10 minutes ago, Scully said:

The days when people would buy game in feather or fur are long gone; and while we live in an affluent society those days won’t return. People will eat most things as long as someone else has done the processing. Even chickens wouldn’t sell if they suddenly appeared in the shops entire. 
I can recall my Dad breeding rabbits for food; the shed at the top of our garden was full of hutches, but mixi put paid to that. 
Rabbit is still a common and popular dish in many mainland European countries, but the only ones I could and still can sell, go for pet food, and that’s only if I process them first. 
Feathered game will never be able to compete with chicken or Turkey from a monetary point of view. 

You mention Rabbit , it was only a few years ago when a chap rang me up to ask if I could get him any Rabbits as he fed his dogs on them , at the time they were costing him £4 each , these were skinned cut up in four or five pieces , bagged up and frozen , this must have been because the demand out stripped the supply , nowadays we have got wild Rabbits but only a fraction of the numbers we once had , even on our estate they employed a full time Warrener not to sell the Rabbits just to keep the numbers down , now the same chap do the keepering and Rabbiting is only a side line .

[Smokersmith]

On 23/02/2022 at 22:18, Scully said:

Our small syndicate just shares the bag amongst the guns, so I can’t see us giving up lead shot anytime soon. 

This

[Gas seal]

Hi marsh man l have supplied rabbits for dog food they wanted them whole, not skinned ,and frozen. They were fed frozen to the dog’s. I’m sure wild duck can be taken by anyone using nets in a duck decoy that was in use before 1954 . It was when the definition of wild birds changed in 2004. I’m sure if it is still the same. There’s a duck decoy nearby but l doubt if they would allow it to be used again. 

 

[marsh man]

6 hours ago, Gas seal said:

Hi marsh man l have supplied rabbits for dog food they wanted them whole, not skinned ,and frozen. They were fed frozen to the dog’s. I’m sure wild duck can be taken by anyone using nets in a duck decoy that was in use before 1954 . It was when the definition of wild birds changed in 2004. I’m sure if it is still the same. There’s a duck decoy nearby but l doubt if they would allow it to be used again. 

 

I dare say the only Rabbits this chap had access to were skinned and cut up for human consumption , if at the time the Rabbits were in short supply then the butcher could make more money by processing them and selling them for four quid rather then to sell them whole for a pound or so.