Some Traits of Fallow Deer and Wild Boar Meat as Affected by Hunting Withdrawal: First Results

摘要

Killing conditions may imply risk for safety and uncertainty in post-mortem meat processes. Objective of this paper was the evaluation of influence of hunting technique on main meat quality traits in wild boar (Sus scrofa) and fallow deer (Dama dama). Since last decade, the number of wild ungulates showed an increase both in Europe and in Italy. This induced an increase in culling rates and venison availability for consumers and the market. Meat from hunted wild ungulates undergoes several steps from the field to the consumer, implying a possible decline in meat quality and uncertainty in postmortem processing steps. 25 wild boars and 14 fallow deer were investigated. They were hunted in different ways: dog drive hunting and still hunting, that imply a stressful escape or not. Still hunted animals provided meat with higher water loss: + 1,7 % and + 2,6 % thawing and cooking loss, respectively. The hunting technique seems neither to have any relevant effect on water loss nor on colour features. Anyway, meat from dog drive hunted animals showed paler and yellower than the other ( L ~* 38.62 vs 31.74 P<0.05; b 12.65 vs 9.65 P<0.05). Outcomes confirm stress as source of abnormalities in meat quality. These anomalies might result discordant as a function of the species taken into account