Processing wild game is more than just a way of making a living for Michael Campbell, owner of the Pepper Tree Sausage House in Albany.

It is, he says, an art that is dying out as skilled meat cutters pass away.

"No one wants to work this hard for so little pay," Campbell said. "But I love it. It's an endearing art."

Campbell says the list of USDA certified processing points is dwindling and many shops that process domestic animals such as beef, swine and sheep, are no longer accepting wild game.

But the wild game business at the Pepper Tree is brisk, even though much of the time it's a one-man operation. On Oct. 1, some 37 deer were brought in for processing, Campbell said.

"We will process about 170 deer and elk this year," Campbell said. "One day about 10 years ago, we had people lined up in cars down the street waiting to bring in their animals."

It takes about 40 minutes to process a deer, which dresses out at about 70 pounds. Elk dress out from 320 to 515 pounds.

Campbell, 56, admits he's not as fast as he was 16 years ago when he first started. In those days, he could process a deer in about 20 minutes, now it takes about 40 minutes for a deer or up to two hours for an elk.

A native of Germany, Campbell lived in several U.S. states before buying the Pepper Tree in 1992. The shop was founded in 1982 by E.B. Lewis. He has been a meat cutter virtually all of his adult life.

"I was dating a girl whose father was a meat cutter," Campbell said. "I tied my first roast and I knew it was how I wanted to make my living from then on."

Processing game is more than just having a sharp knife, Campbell said.

"It's really about disassembling the animal," Campbell said. "If you look closely at the carcass, there are natural seams between the muscles. I take them apart."

The Pepper Tree's busy season is from September through early January. Campbell said hunters who know how to properly field dress an animal make his job much easier. Deer and elk hunters like steaks from their game, but deer meat is often used for sausage and elk for hamburger, Campbell said.

He also processes bear, cougar, carabou, antelope and duck.

Campbell said he is anal about shop cleanliness and keeping the wild game meats completely separate from other portions of his operation. The wild game carcasses are kept in a separate cooler away from any foods used in the restaurant itself.

Campbell charges 70 cents per pound to process an elk or 75 cents per pound for deer with a $75 minimum.

To learn more about wild game processing at the Pepper Tree Sausage House, call 928-1254.

Other wild game processors in the mid-valley include:

B&B Custom Slaughtering, 38864 Scravel Hill Road, 327-2669.

H & K Meats, 1389 Ankeny Hill Road S.E., Jefferson, 503-378-1711.

C 'n' C Slaughtering, 38847 Gilkey Road, Scio 503-394-2611.

Steve's Custom Meat Processing, 38562 Griggs Drive, Lebanon, 451-3401.

By Alex Paul. He can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net.