Our Methods
Providing the most nutritious, best-tasting meat is worth the extra effort. Learn about the innovative tools that allow the deer to be truly wild and stress-free until the moment of harvest.
Accountability
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Great management, for us, always starts with great data. All of our venison is sourced from a field operation, the only one of its kind in the world, that actively manages deer populations in Hawaiʻi using FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) technology in which the heat signatures of animals are detected, recorded and compiled into highly accurate population surveys. This data holds us accountable to the service we are providing to land owners and managers as well as to the communities that are impacted by our work.
Mobility
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Our 30ʻ long slaughter facility on wheels is another cornerstone to wild harvesting, with the capability to slaughter, process, cool and store deer wherever they might be found. Both USDA and FDA approved, our mobile slaughter unit can be moved on a nightly basis if necessary and allows us to be as mobile as the deer are.
Stress-Free Harvesting —
Commercial harvesting of wild Axis deer on private land in Hawaiʻi is legal and requires both Federal and State permits along with extensive USDA oversight for food safety. A USDA inspector attends the entire duration of the harvest and, along with a USDA veterinarian, thoroughly inspects every single animal before approving it as safe for human consumption. As an exotic meat, inspection is voluntary, the cost of which falls to us as opposed to other meats (such as beef, pork, lamb, etc.) whose inspection services are covered by the federal government.
All harvesting is done entirely at night to make the process stress-free for the deer. They are never baited, fenced, penned, or corralled and remain wild until the moment of harvest. To achieve this, we, again, rely on our FLIR technology to inspect and harvest each animal without it being aware of our presence.
Infrared allows us to be incredibly precise and the deer—truly wild.
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As a non-native species, Hawaiʻiʻs Axis deer experience minimal stress throughout their lives, through the absence of natural predators and seasonal swings. For us, it is just as important to remove all stress from the harvesting process. When animals are stressed during or immediately before harvest, they rapidly deplete their bodiesʻ sugar stores and, in turn, their lactic acid levels, causing serious adverse effects on meat quality - both texture and flavor. Lactic acid also acts as an anti-microbial and higher levels equate to less bacteria growth and safer meat. The huge effort that goes into our own stress-free sourcing is, first, an ethical choice, in addition to quality control. Stress-free is the difference you can taste.
Our mission has always been about balance, meeting population goals as mindfully as possible and as varied as we find them. This is achieved only through innovative systems, tools and a decadeʻs worth of solution-building—and finally, channelling all that work into incredible food.