What you must know
- Be able to gralloch and handle the meat hygienically in the field
- Know why cooling is decisive, and how to achieve it
- Know the rules for samples and for selling or giving away game meat
The first half hour
Approach the animal from behind and look for signs of life before you put the rifle down. Kill it with a safe shot if it is alive.
Remove the entrails as soon as possible. The stomach and gut spread bacteria — contamination from them, and from the hide, is what most often ruins meat.
Cooling
Heat ruins meat. Get the carcass opened, hung and cooled as fast as possible, with air around the whole carcass. Split large animals if you cannot cool them whole.
Ageing works best in steady cold, not in a warm cabin. Never freeze meat that has not been properly cooled first.
Samples and sale
Wild boar must always be tested for trichinella. Deer species do not require a trichinella test, but in the wild reindeer areas CWD samples are taken from animals one year and older.
If the meat is to be sold or given away, the Food Safety Authority has its own requirements. For your own use the rules are simpler — but the hygiene is the same.
Estimate the meat yield in the weight calculator
Read more in the Hunter's Handbook
Practise this session
Veida does not run courses and does not hold exams. The mandatory course must be taken with an approved provider, and the exam is taken in the «Jegerprøveeksamen» app through your municipality. These pages are revision and practice alongside the course. Our questions are written by us from public regulations — they are not exam questions.