Consumers’ Attitudes, Preferences, and Perception of Game Meat Consumption in The Republic of Croatia

The consumption of game meat in Croatia is significantly lower than that of the domestic animals’ meat. The paper aims to determine the consumer's attitudes, preferences, and perceptions about the consumption of game meat in Croatia, based on a survey questionnaire. A total of 845 respondents from all over Croatia were surveyed, 715 of whom were hunters. Even though game meat is available to most respondents (67.92%) daily, most of them (40.47%) consume it only occasionally, and only a few of them consume it once a week (7.81%), with the meat products being predominant, most frequently the game meat salami (62.25%). Wild boar meat (33.42%), followed by the rabbit (19.93%), pheasant (16.47%), and roe deer meat (13.56%), is most frequently consumed, while other types of game meat are consumed by a total of less than 7% of respondents. The majority of respondents (78.82%) were aware of the nutritional value of the game meat, which is better than the domestic animals’ meat, and they harbored no fear of inadequate game meat health. Despite this, the offer on the market is relatively weak, although the price is acceptable. As many as 85.33% of respondents believe that the game meat has poor marketing and a weak representation in the media arena. Based on the aforementioned facts, we may conclude that it is necessary to strengthen the marketing activities, as well as the citizens’ awareness of the game meat’s nutritional, culinary, and health value, to increase the consumption of the game meat and provide for its better position on the market.