Game meat tastes gamey because wild animals eat a wild diet
Venison was once as ordinary in American markets as beef, and small birds like robins were roasted whole. Game is simply wild animals hunted for meat, sport or trophies, but what counts as game, and how it is cooked and regulated, varies enormously from one country to the next.
Most game animals are land mammals and birds, with fish caught for sport known as game fish. Which species qualify depends on climate, local wildlife, taste and custom. Wild meat is often described as gamey, a flavour tied to the animal's natural diet, which also tends to make it leaner than farm-raised meat. Many countries split licences into small game, often covered by one permit with annual bag limits, and large game, where each animal needs its own tag.
Laws differ in striking ways. In Britain, game is defined by the Game Act of 1831, and shooting it on Sundays or at night is illegal. Deer fall outside that definition but are governed by similar rules under a 1991 act. Capercaillie and black grouse are no longer hunted there because their numbers have dropped. German law lists moose, European bison, brown bear and birds of prey as game even though they have no open season. In North America, the white-tailed deer is the most hunted big game animal.
South Africa is a major hunting destination, with 62 species of gamebird. Of 44 indigenous gamebirds that could be hunted, only three need special protection, and 24 have grown in number and range over roughly 25 years. Elsewhere in Africa, wild meat is called bushmeat and can include antelopes and primates such as gorillas, some of them endangered and illegal to hunt.
Cooking traditions reflect the leanness. Game was once hung until high, close to decomposition, which raised contamination risks. Because it overcooks easily, it is often slow-cooked, stewed or marinated, as in the German hare dish Hasenpfeffer. American frontier cooks made Brunswick stew and burgoo from squirrel, rabbit and opossum, though chicken now often stands in. Norway's food safety agency advises children and pregnant women to eat game shot with lead ammunition no more than once a month, since lead can affect brain development; arrows or copper bullets avoid the problem.
Source: Game (hunting)
