FSA Scotland Press Release (22/03), 16 October 2003
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising people not to eat venison they may have bought in August and September from a number of shops, mainly in Perthshire, Scotland. This is because the meat may have come from red deer tranquillised with drugs that are not legal for use on animals that people may eat.
This warning applies to venison bought between 11 August and 29 September. While most of the meat is likely to have been eaten, some people may still have frozen meat in their homes. The FSA has identified the following outlets that may unwittingly have received potentially affected meat. These are:
The FSA has instructed local authorities in Scotland and Cumbria to ensure that this product is removed from sale and disposed of.
Additional Notes
1. A number of deer from the Finnart Estate in Perthshire are believed to have been injected with two drugs, Immobilon and Revivon.
2. Neither drug is authorised for use on animals that people may eat and therefore could be a risk to public health.
3. The carcasses of the animals that may have been injected with these drugs were then processed at Pitlochry Game Services Ltd before onward distribution to the outlets listed above during August and September. Pitlochry Game Services Ltd would not have known that these drugs had been used.
4. It is believed that the number of affected animals is small, but it is not possible to identify exactly which carcasses were affected, hence the general advice about venison bought during the period in which this practice is believed to have taken place.