what does this passage mean? "like explorers in the jungle/who hand over the very rare green deer/to the spit and eat it with remorse

By this statement, Robert Putnam meant that the informal social ties promote more efficient bureaucracy than the formal sectors.

Explanation:

In this analogy given by Robert Putnam, he represented the informal social ties with the choral societies and the formal social tie with the health sector.

There is always delay in  processes and activities due to an inefficient bureaucracy in these formal settings. The informal social ties handle bureaucracy  more efficiently than the formal setting