If the answer was not recently, you may be surprised to learn that Northern Tasmania is home to a quality venison industry.

Springfield Deer Farm owners Michal and Connie Frydrych say they can supply  fallow deer 12 months a year, but there is a persistent myth that venison is not available in Tasmania.

Springfield Deer Farm is home to 600 fallow deer, which roam free on the 50 hectare property.

Mr Frydrych said people often thought venison needed  to be imported from interstate or overseas.

‘‘The myth is utter nonsense. Venison is available, you don’t have to get it from Adelaide or New Zealand,’’ he said.

‘‘We have very good pastures which is really important, we’ve got a very good fresh water supply which comes off the mountain, so everything is pretty natural.

‘‘We had a butcher here the other day (who works) not far from here that imports his venison from New Zealand. You have to say, ‘why?’ ’’

The Frydrychs said they believed a big part of the problem in Tasmania was that people were not familiar with venison or how to prepare it.

‘‘Here you say venison, half the people think it’s a wallaby,’’ Mr Frydrych said.

The Frydrychs believe the idea that fallow deer has a strong taste comes from hunting, where people aim for the prized, older deer,which has a gamier taste.

Fallow deer has a more subtle taste, even more so than the Victorian or red deer, which it is often mistaken for.

‘‘Anything that you would cook with lamb it’s the same. There’s not such a strong difference.

‘‘It’s got a taste of venison, but it doesn’t leave an after-taste  or anything like that.

‘‘It’s not a heavy taste that you would think would be venison,’" Mrs Frydrych said.

‘‘If you could have fish, chicken, deer, beef and two nights without any meat at all you’d be really healthy.

‘‘Venison is leaner than beef, and contains more protein and iron.

 '‘Overweight people, high cholesterol people, they all should be eating venison. It’s got hardly any fat, the benefits are probably 30 per cent better than if you were eating beef, and the negatives are 30 per cent less than if you were eating beef," Mr Frydrych said.

‘‘It’s a really good, lean meat, naturally processed, naturally produced. Basically,  it eats grass, it doesn’t eat anything else.’’