Oh Deer, from Pest to Plate

Introduced to Australia in the 1800s, deer have become one of the country’s most widespread feral animals. In alpine valleys and farmlands, they cause millions in damage every year, but among the problem, a small movement is finding purpose. Local hunters, processors, and chefs are transforming this pest into a resource. Turning wild venison into ethical, nutrient-dense food and giving new meaning to the phrase from the land.

Published January 3, 2026    Words Mandy Lamont Photos supplied

Feral deer numbers have exploded from 50,000 in the 1980s to between one and two million today. According to the federal government’s National Feral Deer Action Plan, deer cost Australian communities and primary producers an estimated $91 million each year.

With no natural predators, and growing by roughly 30% a year, each animal can strip hundreds of kilos of native plants and drain thousands of litres of water annually, a quiet but constant drain on delicate ecosystems, and increasing traffic hazard.

In Victoria, the government has committed $18.25 million over four years to control wild deer through aerial culling and ground-based programs. Yet even these large-scale operations come with problems. Carcasses left to decompose, feed other pest species and waste of nutrient-rich meat.

That’s where small-scale, ethical hunting and wild venison processing offer a smarter, more sustainable solution.

Adam Digby, founder of Kosciuszko Wild Venison (KWV) in Jindabyne, saw opportunity in the problem. After over two decades in Sydney’s media industry, Digby returned to the Snowy Mountains, where he spent his late teens and twenty’s. Upon his return he noticed the deer boom firsthand. After tasting a venison hunting sausage, an idea sparked, could wild-harvested venison become a viable regional food industry?

“It turns out there’s a reason nobody else was doing it. Harvesting and processing wild animals comes with layers of regulation.” Adam tells me. To bring his vision to life, he became a certified meat inspector and built a licensed game-processing facility in Jindabyne.

Putting his everything into it, “it’s taken five years to get here,” he tells me. “KWV is small-scale, but every animal we process has lived wild and free. If the harvester does their job right, the animal doesn’t even know it died. There’s no stress and that’s why the meat is so tender and sweet.” Adam says.

The ethical hunters take only what they need, use the whole animal, and ensure quick, humane kills. It’s a practice that mirrors permaculture and regenerative design principles, working with nature’s cycles and giving back to the systems that sustain us.

And the science has backed him up. Speaking with a biology professor at Charles Sturt University who has studied local wildlife for over 20 years. His verdict? Deer are one of the cleanest animals up here. They’re introduced species, so they don’t carry the usual native parasites. And so far, inspections have confirmed it: clean animals, quality meat and a whole new adventure for Digby.

Today, Kosciuszko Wild Venison supplies local restaurants with wild, grass-fed venison. A product that’s not only delicious, but genuinely sustainable. Digby will be opening the doors of Kosciuszko Wild Venison to the public this summer in Leesville, Jindabyne.

Across the border in Beechworth, Discovered Foods share a similar philosophy, taking what was considered a pest and transforming it into a premium, nutrient-rich source of food. By ethically harvesting wild deer, they’re protecting native habitats, preventing further ecological damage, and redefining the future of sustainable meat in Australia.

A leader in sustainable food innovation, Jo’s zero-waste philosophy and deep knowledge of seasonal cooking help make wild venison approachable and inspiring. “Being a produce led chef, the idea of having a wild protein that’s pristine, free ranging, and ethically dispatched, really appeals to me,” she says. “The ingredient is such high quality.”

Sprouting a love of hunting and wild foods, Jo is an avid hunter and fly fisher, and her connection to food runs deep into the landscape. “My mentality around hunting has changed,” she explains “It’s more around tracking the animals and the weather. I bow hunt which is a lot harder. I often don’t see an animal or I won’t take one. The community is amazing and really encouraging. There’s a misconception that it’s just about trophy killing, but many of us care deeply about conservation and animal wellbeing.”

“They’re beautiful creatures, and they’re delicious,” she adds with a smile. “There’s a subtlety to venison. People think it’s super gamey, but when it’s fresh and processed properly, it’s not at all.”

Together, businesses like Kosciuszko Wild Venison, Discovered Foods, and Wild Pie are reframing the narrative, from pest control to purposeful harvest. It’s about regenerative eating, where every bite helps restore ecological balance.

Deer management is complex. There’s no silver bullet, but as numbers surge and ecosystems strain, sustainable hunting and wild-harvest venison offer a grounded, practical path forward.

At maximum capacity, Digby’s processing rate of 50 – 70 deer per day, KWV could remove up to 11,000 breeding animals annually, easing pressure on fragile alpine environments.

In a world fixated on global sustainability pledges which focus on urban habits and global policies, there’s something refreshingly tangible about this local act of responsibility: to hunt well, eat consciously, and honour the land that feeds you. Perhaps the funding to manage pest populations could also be spent on processing facilities that get nutrient-dense food directly to consumers

Perhaps the most radical act of sustainability is also the simplest and the tastiest, eat more venison.

Try some wild venison at Tansfield Hotel Beechworth, Mansfield Hotel Mansfield, Lincoln Hotel Melbourne, Wild Pie and Discovered Foods have a collab, a boxed quarter of a deer, made up in premium cuts, family favourites and readymade meals including pies, lasagna, steaks, burgers, sausages and bone broth. Making venison convenient and approachable and utilising a whole animal there is zero waste. Barney’s Pizza and Wild Game Butchery in Woonoona, Wollongong and Cucina in Jindabyne.

For more informaiton visit koscivenison.com.au and wildpie.com.au

You might also be interested in Ross O’Meara’s Whole Grilled Venison Topside with Spaetzle here