Meat from more than a thousand red deer in the Oostvaardersplassen will soon be on sale again | Cooking & Eating

In 2019, Staatsbosbeheer was instructed to shoot the red deer for the first time. In that year, the meat turned out to be very popular with consumers. According to Bettine de Kruijf of Godwit, who sells the deer from the Oostvaardersplassen, the deer were sold out within half an hour every week in the first year and more than eight thousand people were on the waiting list.

“People felt it was a shame if nothing was done with that meat, so it really raged,” De Kruijf explains.

Again this year, many deer are available for consumption. “Due to the weather conditions, fewer deer have been shot in recent years and of course they have had little ones again. So a lot of deer from the Oostvaardersplassen are available again,” explains De Kruijf.

According to De Kruijf, the meat is ‘deliciously tender and relatively lean’. “It is also very local game, especially if you compare it with the game from the supermarket, which often comes from abroad. So this meat has a small footprint.”

She therefore finds it important that the meat is not wasted. “We want to bring the meat back to the attention and thus give the valuable meat a destination.”

De Kruijf sees that the sale of the meat has fallen in recent years. “People’s sentiment is a bit diluted. Another factor is that the deer hunting season in the Oostvaardersplassen runs from November to April. In the initial period, few deer are shot for various reasons, most deer are available from January to March. Then people often forget about it, because we usually start working with stews and other game dishes in October or November.”

The deer are shot because too many grazers would endanger the biodiversity of the area. This also creates a risk of unwanted animal suffering due to a lack of food. Every year, Staatsbosbeheer calculates how many large grazers can live a healthy life in the area. In addition to the red deer, the number of Konik horses and Heck cattle is also counted. One hundred of these cattle will be shot this year. There will be no changes to the Konik horse population this winter.

Not everyone agrees with the shooting of the large grazers. Pauline de Jong states that it is up to nature to determine how many deer are present. Shooting these deer is actually harmful, says De Jong of Fauna4Life. This foundation stands up for animals living in the wild. “The deer are very much needed for biodiversity, so that all kinds of other animals can live in the area.”

“According to Staatsbosbeheer, the forest birds benefit if there are fewer grazers,” says De Jong. But is the area the place for birds that like to live in woods and bushes? “Those birds can also go to other places in the area. The area is designated for wetland birds. Those birds have an interest in the presence of naturally regulated numbers of red deer, horses and cattle.”

With their grazing, these animals ensure that the area does not become overgrown, but remains suitable for geese, says De Jong. “They in turn ensure that the marshland does not grow over and is livable for the marsh birds.”

Staatsbosbeheer has the correct knowledge of the number of deer that can live in the Oostvaardersplassen, according to De Kruijf. “If you don’t shoot the deer, the number of deer will always double. There is limited space and there must also be room for other animals. Staatsbosbeheer has a policy for this.” That determines how as many different animal species as possible can live there. “There is a limit for the deer.”

The meat is for sale in packages via Godwit. Recipes can be found on the site.