Resident Evil Village animal locations and cooking ingredients

Resident Evil village meat animals
(Image credit: Capcom)

Resident Evil Village animal locations are important to find Quality Meat, Finest Fish and Juicy Game. These resources can be used to cook meals that will boost your health, movement speed, and defense. There's a lot of basic animal meat, poultry, and fish in Resident Evil Village  which isn't to hard to find. However, the higher level versions are much more complicated as there's only one of each to be found from a specific animal. And, you won't see an animal location for these special meats on your Village map either.

You won't be able to find or use these important resources before beating Castle Dimitrescu, but once past that point you'll be able to track them down and start boosting stats. Basic animal meat will boost your health, movement speed, and defense,with the Quality Meat, Finest Fish and Juicy Game variations offering the max level upgrade available. 

Coming up we'll show you all the Resident Evil Village animal locations below, with the higher level versions marked out. To make use of whatever you find, take the animal meat, poultry, and fish you find to The Duke where you can use them to cook recipes in The Duke's Kitchen to get the character boosts.

All Resident Evil Village animal locations map

Resident Evil Village animals

(Image credit: Capcom)

1. Fish

You can't miss your first batch of fish, as you'll wander through a pool of them when leaving Castle Dimitrescu. It's in an area that you can't return to later, as the doors lock once you leave. However, these are basic fish, which are plentiful, so it's not the end of the world if you miss them. 

2. Fish

You can get some more fish as soon as you return to the Village after leaving Castle Dimitrescu. If you go back up the path to reach the castle you'll discover the drawbridge is raised and you can't get back in. However, the water to the left now has some fish in. 

3. Pig - Meat

You'll find your first pig in Old West Town, probably during the objective to 'find the house with the red chimney'. If you visit the house marked on the map, you'll see two doors - head into the one on the left and you'll find the pig. Be ready though as it'll charge on sight, so shoot it before it hurts you. 

4. Chickens - Poultry

These chickens are another animal you'll probably find on the way to the 'find the house with the red chimney' objective. To get into the area with the house in question you'll have to take a ladder up onto the rooftops and the chickens will be hard to miss in the yard below that you'll drop into. 

5. Chickens - Poultry

You'll find these chickens in a small graveyard behind the church once you have the Iron Insignia Key to unlock the gate. 

6. Chickens - Poultry

Bear right as you enter the Fallow Plot on the way to Luiza's House and you'll find some chickens tucked away in a little dead end. 

7. Resident Evil Village Quality Meat

This pig is one of the Resident Evil Village Quality Meat items that limits certain recipes. You'll find it in the yard behind the hut where you found Elena and her father on the way to Luiza's house. It won't be there initially though and only spawns after you've completed Castle Dimitrescu.

8. Goat - Meat

You'll find an angry, quick to attack goat in the gardens on the way to House Beneviento at some point after you complete that objective. It's not clear when, as we revisited the area a few times before it appeared. However, it was there when we returned with the Broken Slab needed to complete the grave outside her house. 

9. Pigs - Meat

These pigs will be hard to miss when you head to Moreau's Reservoir and reach the windmill. You'll have to blow up a green slime barrier to reach a ladder and the pigs will be immediately obvious as you climb over. 

10. Fish

When you find the boat you use to reach Moreau's Reservoir you'll disembark onto a jetty that leads to a green plastic tent. To the right there will be a lamp shining, which highlights a cave mouth. Head into the opening and follow it to the end where you'll find some fish. Get them before entering the tent as you'll trigger a cutscene if you do, and will not be able to get back. 

11. Chickens - Poultry

You'll find these chickens shortly after you leave the Duke while moving through Moreau's Reservoir. They're behind the truck with the note about the crank you need for the windmills. 

12. Fish

Once you've drained Moreau's Reservoir you'll be able to return to the area where you first found the boat. The area will now be drained and you'll be able to go through the windmill (where you probably saw a treasure chest you couldn't reach earlier). Follow the path around, under the windmill, and you'll find some fish in a pool at the bottom. 

13. Chickens - Poultry

On the way to Moreau's Reservoir you will have passed through this part of the Village from the very start of the game, and might have seen some chickens behind a gate you couldn't open. Once you have the crank you will be able to open the door and get at them.

14. Resident Evil Village Finest Fish

When you can lower the drawbridge near the Ceremony Site you can reach this area via a boat that becomes available. Here you'll find one of Resident Evil Village's finest fish, which is one of the unique ingredients you need for the recipe Sarmale de Peste, which increases your movement speed.

15. Goat - Meat

Two goats will appear in the graveyard once you're directed to head towards the Stronghold.

16. Pig - Meat

You'll find this pig when you can get to Otto's Mill after opening up the way to the Stronghold. It's just behind a gate with a breakable lock that you'll need to go through to enter the mill.

17. Poultry, meat and fish

Inside Otto's Mill you'll find a fight, as there's a giant axe wielding monster and some flying enemies. But if you can get through it you'll find a red door with three smashable padlocks on it. Inside you'll find a meat locker with some poultry, meat and fish to take. 

18. Resident Evil Village Juicy Game

I'll be honest I don't know when this appears as it was the last animal I found, although it looks like it's in the graveyard as soon as animals appear in the game. It's also a key, unique ingredient for one meal, the Tochitura du Pui which increases your health greatly. It's a blue bird that appears in a tree over the only grave with a headstone you can read.  

Resident Evil Village cooking recipes

Resident Evil Village recipes animals

(Image credit: Capcom)

There are six Resident Evil Village recipes that will permanently increase some of your attributes like health and damage avoided with blocking. Three of them can be made with basic fish, poultry and meat ingredients, while three require unique ingredients that can only be found once. 

Herbed Fish ingredients

3 Fish
2 Poultry

Reward: Health slightly increases permanently.

Bird and Beef Pilaf ingredients

4 Poultry
1 Meat

Reward: Damage taken when guarding decreases permanently.

Three Flavored Mititrei ingredients 

4 Fish
2 Poultry
3 Meat

Reward: Health increases permanently.

Tochitura de Pui ingredients 

4 Poultry
3 Meat
1 Juicy Game (unique ingredient)

Reward: Health greatly increases permanently.

Ciorba de Peste ingredients 

1 Fish
5 Meat
1 Quality Meat (unique ingredient)

Reward: Damage taken when guarding greatly decreases permanently.

Sarmale de Peste ingredients

6 Fish
1 Finest Fish (unique ingredient)

Reward: Movement speed increases permanently. 

Resident Evil Village tips | Resident Evil Village guns | Resident Evil Village labyrinths | Resident Evil Village masks | Resident Evil Village wells | Resident Evil Village lockpicks | Resident Evil Village Goats | Resident Evil Village crystal fragments, treasure and money | Resident Evil Village animal locations | How long is Resident Evil Village? | How big is the Resident Evil Village map? | Resident Evil Village mods 

Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.