THE pheasant shooting season is underway, so why not join an increasing number of people who are taking advantage of nature's bounty and try some high-quality, healthy and delicious game.

Game is leading the food revolution in the UK, and demand is at an all-time high. With a low-fat and low-calorie content, game such as pigeon, pheasant and rabbit, as well as venison, is making a hit in kitchens across the country as an affordable and healthy option. High in nutritional value, game provides a flavour of the wild unequalled by any of its farmed counterparts.

Local retailers and farm shops are increasingly linking up with local estates and shoots to provide fresh game on their counters, while many local supermarkets now stock and promote a wide selection of game, from stuffed pheasant breast to venison haunch and venison burgers.

Earlier this year, DEFRA minister Ben Bradshaw confirmed that the Government plans to liberalise game laws to help boost the industry, and encourage more people to eat game, which he describes as 'nutritious, tasty and containing some of the vital oils shared with oily fish.'

It is not hard to see that game is a sustainable product which is not only healthy, affordable and easy to cook, but is wild, natural and free-range, and it can only be so because of the efforts of the shooting community.

For more details about game, ask your local butcher or for some delicious game recipes, go to www.game-to-eat.co.uk

Clare Rowson

Midlands Regional Director

Countryside Alliance