Executive Summary
The British Deer Farmers Association (BDFA) is the national body that represents deer farmers and processors of farmed venison in the United Kingdom.

In a similar manner to the Deer Industry Association of Australia (DIAA), the BDFA has no commercial role, rather it provides a structure for collaborative marketing initiatives, promotion of the industry generally, dissemination of technical data and act as a political voice for the industry.

Deer farming in Britain and Europe is generally undertaken in a similar manner to commercial farming of traditional livestock in the same areas.

Although factors like size of enterprise (economies of scale) and market availability for commercial products are of major importance the most obvious difference between farming deer and other livestock species in Europe is the lack of comparable subsidies available for deer farming.

In Britain and Europe enterprises tend to be either small family owned production systems that sell product locally, often from the farm gate.

Community animal/human health concerns that have grown since outbreaks of BSE and Foot and Mouth disease in Europe and have increased the emphasis on well-managed Quality Assurance programs.

Representatives of the BDFA were impressed with the quality assurance software and venison data recording software developed by RIRDC and the Australian Deer Industry. Negotiations to encourage the BDFA to invest in the software have begun.