Our sustainability journey
Hoddy’s was born from the simple idea to create a natural, healthy dog food that uses wild game which might otherwise go to waste. Wild game is organic, high in protein and low in fat but, in the UK, game is almost exclusively consumed by people. We wanted to change that and enable our dogs to benefit too. We also wanted to be as sustainable as we could be in doing so. This is what we’ve achieved so far.
Using wild pheasant and venison is a great first step. Being wild rather than intensively farmed makes them sustainable sources of protein with a lower carbon footprint that most farmed meats - and it’s healthier too. Pheasant has more protein, less fat and less cholesterol than chicken while venison is lower in fat and calories and higher in protein than beef. By specifically choosing to use the leftovers, that would historically have been wasted, cuts down on food waste too. Even better, wild game is brilliant for our dogs’ nutrition too!
While this was a good start, we are always looking to improve and so we’ve taken the step to ensure that all our pheasant is British Game Assurance (BGA) certified. All BGA-assured game agrees to strict regulations covering aspects such as land management, the number of birds reared and released, and the use of medication. This means it’s guaranteed to be sustainably sourced, ethical, and among the best on the market.
Well managed wild game has other advantages too. Their management in the countryside beautifies and enhances our landscape and our national biodiversity. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT)1 monitor species such as lapwing, farmland and woodland songbirds, and butterflies to ensure they benefit from game management as well as improving the landscape for wild game species themselves.
Reducing food miles is important to us too so as well as sourcing all our pheasant and venison in the UK, it’s processed here too. Plus we’re working hard to make our packaging as sustainable as possible too. Our kibble comes in bags that can currently be recycled with carrier bags but we’re always looking to improve things. So we talk to our bag manufacturers regularly and look to implement any developments that can improve it.
How the food gets to our customers is critical. So we’re working to make our deliveries more sustainable by using DPD2 whose mission is to be the UK's leader in sustainable delivery and have clearly defined and fully validated path to net zero by 2040.
While we’re already using certified British game, reducing food waste and keeping food miles to a minimum, we intend to go further. We continually strive for improvements and to always do better. So, one of the next steps is to start measuring our carbon footprint so we can make improvements wherever we can to reduce our impact. It’s a journey of continuous improvement.