20 Mar 2015

Managing Meat - Broadleaf Game

From Country Life, 9:05 pm on 20 March 2015

Ex-pat kiwi Mark Mitchell runs a specialty meat firm in Los Angeles, a far cry from his beginnings where he was deer farming and into live capture in South Westland in the late 1970's. Even though everyone still wanted live animals in the industry's early days, Mark saw a future in venison sausages. They sold well so his next stop was USA to do the same thing there. After a rocky start he now has a two acre distribution centre in downtown LA. He imports NZ lamb and venison, crocodile and wagyu beef from Australia, sells ostrich, elk and rabbit meat and is into live capturing wild boar in Texas, exporting their meat to Europe. The live capture techniques are very similar to wild deer capture methods. "Boars are keen on their food", he says, "so easy to lure into pens."