Takuro Nishino
Venison jerky for dogs sold on the Internet is gaining popularity among dog lovers nationwide.
In an effort to provide pet dogs with high-quality protein, Sachiko Taguchi, a 41-year-old hunter of Kunisaki, Oita Prefecture, produces venison jerky by hunting deer and drying their meat.
Sachiko Taguchi shows venison products to be sold as dog food in Kunisaki, Oita Prefecture.
Crop damages by deer have become a serious problem in Kunisaki, but since most of the hunted deer are being disposed of, Taguchi said she wanted to make use of the deer meat.
She developed different jerkies according to dog’s types and purposes such as for training and for gifts. The jerkies became popular as they responded to different needs and were domestically-produced. Large retail stores began selling them in metropolitan areas.
Taguchi, formerly a photo printing shop owner, came up with the idea of developing venison jerky for her dog when a hunter came to her shop to print photographs he took as evidences of capturing harmful animals.
She asked the hunter for some deer meat, and gave it to her dog. Her dog liked it, as it contained less fat than beef and pork. When she wrote a blog post about feeding venison to her dog, many dog lovers commented that they also want to give venison to their dogs. As she communicated with other dog lovers, she learned that dogs also have allergies and many dog lovers are looking for allergy-free, high-quality protein food for dogs.
Thinking that deer meat should not be wasted, she became an apprentice of a hunter and obtained a hunter’s license. She learned to dismantle deer and process venison, and she sent samples of venison jerky to the dog lovers for comments.
Last year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization designated the Usa district of the Kunisaki Peninsula, including the city of Kunisaki, as the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. Taguchi hopes to use venison jerky, named Tag-Knight after her dog, to promote meat produced from deer which grew up in the area.
Currently, she produces venison jerkies only on orders, but she plans to increase production after a new processing facility is completed in the end of March.
She said she hopes to process 150 deer a year to provide dog lovers with safe products for their dogs.
(March 25, 2014)