Venison

The red deer is naturally a woodland animal and forced into the glens. Scottish deer are smaller than their southern cousins. I have spent happy days stalking the red and the roe, huffing and puffing through the heather, surrounded by staggering beauty untainted by the swoosh of cars. Shooting a deer is no light-hearted matter, but when the bullet has acted swiftly and the deer has been gralloched and taken from the hill, one becomes aware of the reverential hush this pursuit commands. So much observation is necessary to understand and maintain the herds and, coupled with such a strong code of practice, it is hard to suggest any lack of respect for the animal - a respect that can only be followed by a quiet thank you, whispered in the wind. Given the choice, I prefer get my meat this way than to point at the glass of the butcher’s counter.