'Deer are an integral part of our ecosystem but without natural predators here in the UK, deer populations need to be maintained at sustainable levels. And this maintenance needs to be done by people.'

Martin Fowlie - spokeperson for RSPB

'Encouraging more people to eat more venison is vital, to buy venison wherever they can, its health benefits are unequalled by any other red meat, and eating venison has significant upstream benefits for our ecosystem.'

Dick Playfair - Scottish Venison

'Venison is increasingly regarded as a healthy, sustainable and readily available alternative to other types of red meat. Deer are the most amazing sustainable food asset in Britain. You’ve got this large protein which has no cholesterol and is full of antioxidant with none of the health issues that come with red meat.'

Mike Robinson - Game chef and deer manager

'They are leaner than most meat, utterly delicious and you can be sure that your Sunday lunch will be helping maintain Britain’s precious biodiversity.’

Sam Carlisle - Countryside Alliance

It has more protein than any other red meat, which means that it sates the appetite really well. It is also particularly rich in iron (more so than beef), which prevents anaemia and is good for energy levels. It's full of B vitamins: B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin), which help regulate metabolism; and vitamin B6 and B12, which may lower homocysteine build-up in the blood, thus lowering the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Thanks to all the wild and pasture food that deer eat, the small amount of fat in venison is likely to contain high levels of conjugated linoleic acid, which is thought to protect against heart disease and cancer.

Article in The Guardian about venison