Game (hunting)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated (such as venison). Game animals are also hunted for sport.
The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or cannot be legitimately hunted. Sometimes a distinction is also made between varieties and species of a particular animal, such as wild or domestic turkey.
Game by region
In some countries, game is classified, including legal classification with respect to licenses required, as either small game or large game. Small game includes small animals and birds, such as rabbits, pheasants, doves, geese or ducks. A single small game license may cover all small game species and be subject to daily and yearly bag limits. Large game includes animals like deer, bear, and elk and are often subject to individual licensing where a separate license is required for each individual animal taken(tags). Big game is a term sometimes used interchangeably with large game although in other contexts it refers to large, usually African, mammals (like elephants) which are hunted mainly for trophies, not for food.
Africa
In Africa, wild animals hunted for their meat are called bushmeat; see that article for more detailed information on how this operates within the economy (for personal consumption and for money) and the law (including overexploitation and illegal imports). Animals hunted include, but are not limited to:
- Various species of antelope
- Cape buffalo
- Wildebeest
- Zebra
- Elephant
Some of these animals are endangered or otherwise protected, and thus it is illegal to hunt them.
In Africa, animals hunted for their pelts or ivory are sometimes referred to as big game.
Also see the legal definition of game in Swaziland.
Australia
In Australia, game includes:
- Deer
- Duck
- Magpie Geese
- Water Buffalo
- Banteng
- Kangaroo
- Rabbit
- Crocodile is no longer legal to shoot, however it is farmed extensively
- Wild Pig
- Wild Goat
North America
In the U.S., Mexico and Canada, deer are the most commonly hunted big game. Game species in North America include:
- Bear
- Bighorn Sheep
- Buffalo
- Caribou
- Chukar
- Deer
- Dove
- Duck
- Elk (wapiti)
- Goose
- Grouse
- Hare
- Javelina/Peccary
- Moose
- Mountain goat
- Muskrat
- Partridge
- Pigeon
- Pheasant
- Pronghorn antelope
- Quail
- Rabbit
- Raccoon
- Sandhill Crane
- Squirrel
- Swan
- Turkey
- Wild boar
- Woodcock
United Kingdom
In the UK game is defined in law by the Game Act 1831. Other (non-game birds) that are hunted for food in the UK are specified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. UK law defines game as including:
- Black grouse
- Red grouse
- Brown hare
- Ptarmigan
- Grey partridge (and red-legged partridge)
- Common pheasant
Deer are not included in the definition, but similar controls provided to those in the Game Act apply to deer (from the Deer Act 1991). Deer hunted in the UK are:
- Red deer
- Roe deer
- Fallow deer
- Sika deer
- Muntjac deer
- Chinese water deer
- and hybrids of these deer
Other animals which are hunted in the UK include:
- Duck, including Mallard, Tufted Duck, Teal, Pintail and Pochard
- Goose, including Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose and in England and Wales White-fronted Goose
- Woodpigeon
- Woodcock
- Snipe
- Rabbit
- Golden Plover
- Note: Capercaillie are not currently hunted in the UK because of a recent decline in numbers and conservation projects towards their recovery. The ban is generally considered voluntary on private lands, and few birds live away from RSPB or Forestry Commission land anyway.
Game preparation
Once obtained, game meat must be processed. The method of processing varies by game species and size. Small game and fowl may simply be carried home to be butchered. Large game such as deer is quickly field-dressed by removing the viscera in the field, while very large animals like moose may be partially butchered in the field because of the difficulty of removing them intact from their habitat. Commercial processors often handle deer taken during deer seasons, sometimes even at supermarket meat counters. Otherwise the hunter handles butchering. The carcass is kept cool to minimize spoilage.
Some believe the meat tastes better and is more tender if it is hung and aged for a few days before processing; however, this adds to the risk of contamination. Small game can be processed essentially intact; after gutting and skinning or defeathering (by species), small animals are ready for cooking although they may be disjointed first. Large game must be processed by techniques commonly practiced by commercial butchers.
Game cooking
Generally game is cooked in the same ways as farmed meat. It is sometimes grilled or cooked longer or by slow cooking or moist-heat methods to make it more tender, since some game tends to be tougher than farm-raised meat. Other methods of tenderizing include marinating as in the dish Hasenpfeffer. Many claim that game meat is more flavorful than farm-meat although some find this flavor objectionable as seen in the term, gamey, which is used pejoratively.
See also
