SHOPPERS in Gloucestershire are biting back against the credit crunch, literally, and the county's butchers are benefiting.

And one of the real growth areas is meat from wild and almost wild animals like rabbit and pheasant.

Manager of Lanes butchers in Cheltenham's Bath Road, Danny Watts said: "Pheasant is still the same price it was 25 years ago. They're just £3.50 a bird, considering they're free range it's a lot cheaper than chicken.

"And it's become really popular, we must sell more than double what we did a few years ago and the same with rabbit."

Mr Watts said one of the reasons the game bird was so cheap is that the cost of rearing and feeding them was borne by the people who shoot them for sport.

He said: "Shooters can pay up to something like £500 for a day's shooting and also £20 for each bird they shoot.

"The gamekeepers sell the birds to us just for a bit of pocket money, so they're really cheap. We get ours from Hartley Farm on Leckhampton Hill, so they're really fresh and local."

Mr Watts said his shop sold about 100 pheasants and rabbits a week, and hundreds more over Christmas.

Other butchers told a similar story, but also said sales of more expensive cuts were holding up.

Rod Creese, owner of Creese Brothers butcher in Hucclecote Road in Gloucester, said: "We do sell a few rabbits and are seeing a distinct rise in cheaper cuts like brisket, but because we now take the fat off and take the bone out, it's not as cheap an option as it was say 15 years' ago.

"But we have also noticed that people seem to be wanting good meat for a nice meal at home, perhaps instead of going out to a restaurant.

"They are still buying the steak and chops, as well as looking for the cheaper cuts."

And he believes the quality of the meat he sells will help keep his customers coming back.

He said: "We sell solely British and local meat and I belive if you do it as well as you possibly can then people will recognise that."