Yezo deer meat used for hamburgers in Hokkaido

By Shinsuke Sano

SAPPORO —

Kiichi Sogabe, 68, president of a quarrying and construction company, began raising Yezo deer at a ranch in Kushiro near Lake Akan in Hokkaido three years ago because his son, Motochika, 41, developed ‘‘Yezo deer burgers’’ to help promote the region.

Sogabe catches wild Yezo deer and rears them at an 11-hectare ranch for six months before shipping their meat. Meat from more than 1,000 deer has been shipped so far.

Yezo deer, which are only found on Japan’s northernmost main island, eat sugar beet and wheat, and the annual damage comes close to 3 billion yen. In Shiretoko, a World Heritage Site, rare plants are also eaten by the animals.

Motochika, an official at the local chamber of commerce and industry, began producing Yezo deer burgers on a trial basis. ‘‘Only some parts of Yezo deer are used in French dishes, and almost all the Yezo deer that are hunted are abandoned. I thought that the meat should be fully used.’’

Deer meat is said to have a strong smell, but the problem has been overcome by quickly extracting the blood of the animals.

At the Akai (red) Beret hot-spring resort facility in Kushiro, the chamber of commerce and industry successfully test-marketed Yezo deer burgers in summer 2003. In the first three days, 750 hamburgers were sold, three times more than expected, and the burgers are now a popular menu item there. One hamburger costs 300 yen.

The hamburgers taste like beef burgers but are less heavy and richer in protein. They are moist and low in fat.

At the prefectural Akan High School in January this year, 22 second-year students made hamburgers using Yezo deer meat on the urging of Motochika. He explained to the students why he decided to use Yezo deer meat by showing them a picture of a large 150-year-old elm tree, the bark of which had been damaged by Yezo deer.

‘‘It is said that carbon dioxide emissions should be cut and electric power should not be consumed wastefully. By eating deer, we can preserve forests and conserve the environment,’’ he said.

Yezo deer meat is also being served in school lunches at primary and junior high schools. ‘‘Yezo deer meat provides a teaching material for food and environmental education,’’ he said.

Yezo deer provided a precious source of foreign currency in the early Meiji period. The local administration at the time built a plant to produce canned deer meat for export to France and other countries. But due to overhunting, Yezo deer were on the verge of extinction and the administration had to take protective measures.

The wolf, the deer’s natural enemy, was driven to extinction about 100 years ago as it attacked domestic animals. After World War II, forests and swamps were turned into farms and ranches, increasing food for Yezo deer. Snowfall has decreased due to global warming and the animal’s natural death rate during the winter has declined.

As a result, the population of Yezo deer began increasing sharply in the second half of the 1980s and is said to number about 400,000 at present.

The Hokkaido prefectural government has set a target of halving the population of Yezo deer. About 70,000 are culled annually—not enough to keep pace with reproduction. Costs are also incurred in catching, hunting and disposing of the deer.

‘‘At Yellowstone National Park in the United States, the wolf has been introduced, but in Japan it is difficult to secure a consensus among residents. The costs of the annual cull are too high and it does not go smoothly. The only way is to raise the value of deer meat and to adjust numbers by eating it,’’ said Hiroyuki Ida, secretary general of the Yezo Deer Association of Sapporo.

In Sapporo, the number of restaurants that have introduced Yezo deer meat on their menus has increased drastically in the last two years. But Ida said, ‘‘Of the around 70,000 deer culled annually, less than 10,000 animals are used for meat. There is still a long way to go.’’

With the damage caused by the animals, eating Yezo deer meat is an attempt to recover an ecological balance.

Takeo Koizumi, a professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture, said that while it is necessary to control the number of deer to prevent damage to crops and forests, it is not good to merely cull the deer.

He said deer meat provides a precious source of protein and in Europe and North America deer meat is highly valued and deer are reared carefully.

Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

motytrah at 10:24 AM JST - 7th May

I've never thought venison made for a good burger. The fat tends to be a bit bitter. The strong taste can be somewhat influenced by what the deer are eating. You can mix in a little beef or pork fat to make a better burger. But I think whole cuts of meat are much better.

I find it more of a waste that they cull so many and waste the meat.
beavis at 11:37 AM JST - 7th May

Reared carefully

He said reared. huh huh
Hughgarse at 01:03 PM JST - 7th May

venison is awesome. get into it!
telecasterplayer at 01:05 PM JST - 7th May

Deer meat is said to have a strong smell, but the problem has been overcome by quickly extracting the blood of the animals.

A marinade of equal parts red wine and soy sauce with a little worchestershire, a ton of garlic and some rosemary will also tame the gaminess.

Does Japan have Deer Wasting Disease? I won't touch the deer in the U.S... don't want any more holes in my brain.
pathat at 01:41 PM JST - 7th May

Beavis:

Reared carefully He said reared. huh huh

Just like sheep in New Zealand from what I hear.

I would like to try some of these dear-meat hamburgers. I guess I will have to make another trip to Hokkaido.
Nessie at 03:06 PM JST - 7th May

Had some last week as yakiniku. Wonderful.
xpompey8 at 03:31 PM JST - 7th May

This article made me hungry.
Sarge at 05:45 PM JST - 7th May

"The ( deer burgers ) taste like beef burgers, but they are less heavy and richer in protein. They are moist and low in fat. One... costs 300 yen."

And not one restaurant in my neighborhood serves them. Incredible.
capone at 06:39 PM JST - 7th May

in my experience venison works better in a stew, but elk steaks are fantastic on the bbq
OssanULTRA at 12:25 AM JST - 8th May

"rjdsr, I think this is a PR piece for both the practice of eating dead deer and visiting Hokkaido."

I would find the practice of eating live deer pretty disgusting if not extremely difficult to accomplish.
zaichik at 04:16 AM JST - 8th May

Alfie, are you from Margam? I have fond memories of eating venison from Margam Park as a child.

Bring on the yaki-Bambi and the Thumper stew, say I!
Taka313 at 12:45 PM JST - 8th May

GG2141, Try elk. I prefer it to beef steak, to be honest. I'm with Zai and the majority here. Venison simply tastes good and the hide can be used as well. Where I grew up, most people donated their deer hides to the indian reservation nearby. The indians used the hides to make traditional crafts (I'm a believer in using as much of the animal as possible).

Taka
midorimage at 03:46 PM JST - 8th May

When my brother came to Japan a few years back I took him to Nara Koen to feed the deer biscuts. A few days later were were in a mountain hut enjoying deer sukiyaki. Felt a bit weird but they were tasty..
Farmboy at 05:26 PM JST - 8th May

Too many deer eating all the underbrush, the crops, and the gardens...it's a problem many places. We tried talking to the deer about population control, but the results were inconclusive. Bambi hamburgers may be the best way.
OhioDonna at 12:10 AM JST - 10th May

Deer meet can be tasty if prepared correctly. One must also factor in what the deer consumed while alive. Here in Ohio farm country, the meat is very good. I have also had some deer that was horrible. This particular deer had been killed in a wooded area and feasted mainly on acorns and crabapples. Corn fed deer is the best.