This is particularly galling as not only is the red deer a national icon, recently voted Scotland’s most loved animal, but also because much of our scientific understanding of red deer, as well as the development of modern deer farming techniques, stem from Scottish research. Yet, due to changes in the subsidy system in Scotland, it is the pioneers of the movement who are now suffering the most.

Man has long lived in close proximity to deer. There were over 2000 deer parks in Medieval Britain, but, until the 1960s, astonishingly little was known about our largest remaining, native, land-based mammal. In that decade of change, a number of detailed studies were undertaken in Scotland. The results allowed for a vastly improved understanding of the species, and the gradual realisation that farming red deer was both possible and desirable.

Perhaps more than anyone else, Dr John Fletcher has contributed to this understanding. A trained vet, he spent five years studying wild deer on the island of Rum, which, crucially, included a small group that were kept in a 30-acre enclosure. On observing how content these ‘captive’ animals were, he realised they were ideally suited to being reared on farms. This was backed up by Sir Kenneth Blaxter’s pioneering deer-farming project – at the Rowett Research Institute, Glensaugh, near Banchory. Here, from 1969, calves were taken from the wild and bottle-fed in captivity. They thrived, and thus provided both the impetus and original breeding stock for Scotland’s deer-farms-to-be.

Fletcher had long championed both the taste and the health benefits of venison and the Glensaugh experiment confirmed his growing suspicion that it was possible to

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend