Europe’s game meat model examined

Over the course of my next few columns, I’ll provide a summary of a Churchill Fellowship report titled To Explore, Review and Document Wild Game Harvesting in Europe. I’ve know the author, Neal Finch, for several years as he’s a SSAA member, hunter, wildlife biologist, forward thinker and all-round good guy.

Chapters within this report look at how wildlife is managed in different countries and it’s certainly something Australia can learn from. Hunters, both professional and non-professional (recreational) in Europe, are viewed as the same in that they offer the necessary resources to manage wildlife populations. This is something the Australian pest management industry can’t understand or are simply not willing to.

First up, Neal explores the deep-rooted hunting culture and game meat industry in Spain, which is a major supplier of wild game meat in Europe. Hunting in that country is widespread with 85 per cent of land designated as such under various lease arrangements. As of 2023 around 700,000 hunting licenses were issued, down from more than a million in 2010, largely due to population shifts from rural to urban areas.

Despite the decline, hunting remains high on the list of Spain’s most popular outdoor activities after football and basketball, contributing billions of euros annually to the national economy and employing thousands of people. The country processes 15,000-20,000 tonnes of wild game meat a year, equating to around half a million animals. Ninety per cent of this is exported to other European countries, making Spain the continent’s most significant exporter of game meat. Importantly, recreational hunters supply the bulk of this meat as there’s minimal commercial shooting compared to Australia.

Spain’s hunting system is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and implemented by the country’s 17 autonomous communities and all hunters must be licensed and insured. Hunting is split into ‘caza menor’ (small game) and ‘caza mayor’ (big game) with increasing interest in the latter, especially wild boar (jabali), whose populations are growing rapidly. Hunters in Catalonia receive a monetary incentive (around $40) for each wild pig harvested and processed into the registered food chain.

Most agricultural lands are either Coto Social de Caza (leased by hunting clubs) or Coto Privado de Caza (privately leased). On hunting days (usually Thursdays, Sundays and some holidays), rural Spain is visibly animated by legal and organised hunting activity, where it’s common to see hunters dressed in blaze orange gathering in local cafes before heading out.

A key tradition in Spanish hunting is the ‘montería’, a large-scale driven hunt involving more than 100 hunters and hundreds of dogs flushing game from expansive properties known as manchas. These events are highly organised, culturally significant and provide the bulk of game meat for commercial processors. During one montería attended by Neal, 90 red deer and six wild boars were harvested on a 5000-hectare property, with all animals quickly processed and refrigerated according to strict hygiene standards.

Other hunting methods include ‘rececho’ (stalking), which is like traditional Australian recreational hunting, though animals taken this way usually don’t enter the commercial meat chain due to processing logistics. ‘Fincas’ (dedicated hunting estates) are another important part of the industry.

Neal visited Cárnicas DIBE, a major game meat processor which handled 85,000 carcasses in 2023-24, mainly red deer and wild boar. The company employs more than 200 people during peak season and is run by the sons of the founders, who are leaders in Spain’s game meat association ASICCAZA. Fundación Artemisan, a research and advocacy group for hunting and conservation, plays a vital role in policy, public engagement and scientific research, while also working to combat misinformation from anti-hunting activists and promote scientifically grounded wildlife management.

Prior to 2020, hunting was the principal form of wildlife management in most National Park areas of Spain. Since then it has been banned in National Parks with the support of urban dwellers, which has resulted in overpopulation, malnourished animals, habitat degradation and expensive state-funded culling programs which waste meat. This now parallels the inefficiencies observed here in Australia. The shift has generated much debate among the nation’s conservation communities regarding the negative ecological effects of the ban on hunting.