SUMMARY Research background As fermentation is an integral feature of both, dry sausage and cheese production, this has led to the evaluation of bacterial cultures Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris (LL8307) and Enterococcus durans (ED0207) originally isolated from artisanal Croatian hard type cheese to diversify the range of flavours of dry fermented sausages and to increase their microbiological safety. Both strains were chosen for their high or medium acidifying, proteolytic and/or lipolytic activity and bioprotective potential after step-by-step selection of wild isolates. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the survival rate of selected starter cultures in wild boar meat sausages during the ripening period of 40 days at a local small-scale facility under artisanal conditions as well as their influence on sausage quality parameters. Experimental approach Safety, biotechnological and probiotic properties of twenty-three enterococcal and lactococcal isolates of dairy origin were studied. Based on the results, two best candidates were selected and added to the meat batter during the artisanal wild boar meat sausage preparation where their survival rate, effect on physicochemical, microbiological and sensorial properties and histamine content were evaluated. Results and conclusions As revealed by repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR), native starter cultures survived up to 15 days of ripening and were either absent from (LL8307) or reduced by 80% (ED0207) in final products. The application of native starter cultures rapidly decreased pH (p