Strathmore Estate
Strathmore Estate
Strathmore Estate is a stunning moorland game estate in Sutherland, a remote corner of the Scottish highlands two hours from Inverness.
The estate follows the Strathmore river from Loch Hope towards Altnaharra and flanks the most northerly 'Munro' Ben Hope.
The Estate falls within the Ben Hope Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is Nationally important for habitats such as blanket bog, wet heath, subalpine dry heath and montane communities. Scottish Natural Heritage are responsible for monitoring and ensuring the protection of this wonderful area of upland Scotland.
On Strathmore the Estate is managed predominantly for nature conservation and part of this management plan involves controlling the deer population on the land as well as monitoring – on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage – the condition of the habitats. As a landowner the Estate has a legal responsibility to oversee the population and health of the deer occupying their land.
Strathmore Estate is a stunning moorland game estate in Sutherland, a remote corner of the Scottish highlands two hours from Inverness.
The estate follows the Strathmore river from Loch Hope towards Altnaharra and flanks the most northerly 'Munro' Ben Hope.
The Estate falls within the Ben Hope Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is Nationally important for habitats such as blanket bog, wet heath, subalpine dry heath and montane communities. Scottish Natural Heritage are responsible for monitoring and ensuring the protection of this wonderful area of upland Scotland.
On Strathmore the Estate is managed predominantly for nature conservation and part of this management plan involves controlling the deer population on the land as well as monitoring – on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage – the condition of the habitats. As a landowner the Estate has a legal responsibility to oversee the population and health of the deer occupying their land.
John Spence is the Stalker on the Estate and lives with his wife Jackie 'on the job'. His role is diverse but his core responsibility is to understand and manage - through culling and other processes - the red deer population on the land. John has a thorough knowledge of every corner of the 'march' and how, where and when the deer will use the terrain.
If a population of deer are left un-managed the herd will overgraze the moorlands, this will not only damage delicate habitats, but will cause suffering in the animals through starvation. If you cull too many animals you will jeopardise the sustainability of stag and hind numbers and therefore the viability of the Estate. Selling the 'experience' of stalking the deer is an incredibly important income stream for many Highland Estates and the resulting meat can also be sold to game dealers to further help profitability.
The ideal balance is to maintain a herd that is of a healthy age range and cull any animals that are either injured or have the potential to starve in a harsh winter. The real skill of an indispensable stalker, is to predict this situation early enough for the potential cull animal to still provide prime venison.
If a population of deer are left un-managed the herd will overgraze the moorlands, this will not only damage delicate habitats, but will cause suffering in the animals through starvation. If you cull too many animals you will jeopardise the sustainability of stag and hind numbers and therefore the viability of the Estate. Selling the 'experience' of stalking the deer is an incredibly important income stream for many Highland Estates and the resulting meat can also be sold to game dealers to further help profitability.
The ideal balance is to maintain a herd that is of a healthy age range and cull any animals that are either injured or have the potential to starve in a harsh winter. The real skill of an indispensable stalker, is to predict this situation early enough for the potential cull animal to still provide prime venison.
The level of skill in this job should not be underestimated, a stalker has to know every animal and have a deep understanding of how the herds of hinds and stags are interacting with their habitat. The exact numbers culled every year should be dictated by the age or health profile of the animals and their impact on their habitat, not how much revenue the Estate needs to generate. All this has to be done without allowing the deer to associate the stalker with stress or death, unlike fox hunting, there is no chasing deer down or hunting with dogs. The stalker – well, stalks – following the herd out of sight and downwind until the moment he shoots, the animal is immediately dead with no knowledge of what has happened, and the herd – although startled by the shot - have no concept of what created the noise.
High Welfare Venison - In my opinion Stalked venison is among the most humane meats you can eat, an animal has led a long healthy life in a totally wild environment and is quickly and precisely slaughtered with no knowledge that anything is amiss. The stalkers are armed with both high powered rifles with sights, and an incredible level of skill in order to make a clean shot to the neck or chest. The shot to the circulatory system removes the blood pressure from the animal which renders the animal unconscious within seconds. The stag we stalked almost appeared to be dead when it hit the ground. There is no transportation, stress, slaughter house or risk of miss-handling by abattoir staff.
Sustainable Venison - Venison can come from many sources and indeed some Estates have moorlands that are managed poorly for nature conservation. As with all meat it is important to dig a bit deeper than the generalised marketing used by large companies – not all venison is sustainable.
Strathmore on the other hand, is, moorland that is managed well, offers incredibly rich biodiversity, it is essential to have some controlled grazing on upland habitats, if left under grazed these delicate areas become rank and choked which in turn destroys the array of important species that should thrive.
Peat moorlands – the habitat on which most red deer reside – are the superhero’s of the global fight against greenhouse gasses. When heather and moorland grasses are carefully grazed by deer or cattle and are not eroded by people or weather, they create layer upon layer of deep peat. This process sequesters – takes out of the atmosphere and locks away – tonnes of Carbon. There is more carbon stored in UK peat than in the combined forests of Britain and France.
High Welfare Venison - In my opinion Stalked venison is among the most humane meats you can eat, an animal has led a long healthy life in a totally wild environment and is quickly and precisely slaughtered with no knowledge that anything is amiss. The stalkers are armed with both high powered rifles with sights, and an incredible level of skill in order to make a clean shot to the neck or chest. The shot to the circulatory system removes the blood pressure from the animal which renders the animal unconscious within seconds. The stag we stalked almost appeared to be dead when it hit the ground. There is no transportation, stress, slaughter house or risk of miss-handling by abattoir staff.
Sustainable Venison - Venison can come from many sources and indeed some Estates have moorlands that are managed poorly for nature conservation. As with all meat it is important to dig a bit deeper than the generalised marketing used by large companies – not all venison is sustainable.
Strathmore on the other hand, is, moorland that is managed well, offers incredibly rich biodiversity, it is essential to have some controlled grazing on upland habitats, if left under grazed these delicate areas become rank and choked which in turn destroys the array of important species that should thrive.
Peat moorlands – the habitat on which most red deer reside – are the superhero’s of the global fight against greenhouse gasses. When heather and moorland grasses are carefully grazed by deer or cattle and are not eroded by people or weather, they create layer upon layer of deep peat. This process sequesters – takes out of the atmosphere and locks away – tonnes of Carbon. There is more carbon stored in UK peat than in the combined forests of Britain and France.
Nutritious venison – The nutrient value of meat of meat is dictated by the quality of the food that the animal has eaten and how closely it fits with the natural requirements of the animal’s physiology. In the case of wild venison that has grazed on a moorland that is species rich, is untouched by fertilisers and pesticides and its water source comes from the sky – I think you would be hard pushed to find a more nutrient dense red meat.
We are working with Strathmore Estate because of their impeccable credentials and because we feel they can provide us with – in my opinion – the best venison you could buy.
We will be working within the shooting seasons
Red stags: July 1 – Oct 20 (we avoid October as the Stags tend to get too strong in flavour)
Red hinds: Oct 21 – Feb 15
We will be selling stags and hinds in ‘stakes’ and when all the stakes are sold we will be commissioning John to stalk an animal to fit our requirements. We will arrange all the logistics , hanging, cutting and packing, the venison will arrive at your door, fresh and ready to freeze in out eco-sheep wool lined boxes.
Versatile venison – At home we eat venison and beef interchangeably, in a sauce or strong flavours you would be hard pushed to tell the difference. I cook venison cuts exactly as I do lamb cuts and the results are nothing short of spectacular. Venison is an incredibly healthy, versatile and delicious meat. It is surprisingly good value when purchased in this way.
Why not give it a try.
We are working with Strathmore Estate because of their impeccable credentials and because we feel they can provide us with – in my opinion – the best venison you could buy.
We will be working within the shooting seasons
Red stags: July 1 – Oct 20 (we avoid October as the Stags tend to get too strong in flavour)
Red hinds: Oct 21 – Feb 15
We will be selling stags and hinds in ‘stakes’ and when all the stakes are sold we will be commissioning John to stalk an animal to fit our requirements. We will arrange all the logistics , hanging, cutting and packing, the venison will arrive at your door, fresh and ready to freeze in out eco-sheep wool lined boxes.
Versatile venison – At home we eat venison and beef interchangeably, in a sauce or strong flavours you would be hard pushed to tell the difference. I cook venison cuts exactly as I do lamb cuts and the results are nothing short of spectacular. Venison is an incredibly healthy, versatile and delicious meat. It is surprisingly good value when purchased in this way.
Why not give it a try.