A Breeding Program for Farmed Fallow Deer

There is increasing archaeological evidence that deer were being systematically cropped or “ranched” much earlier than has been previously supposed. In the Mediterranean region, fallow deer (Dama danm dama), made a sudden appearance on several islands at the same time as sheep, goats and pigs, and subsequently their bones make up 70 percent of those found at Neolithic sites between 6000 and 2000 B.C., suggesting that they may have been introduced for meat production. However, the resurgence of interest in the use of deer for intensive farming began in Scotland about 25 years ago and has developed to the highest level in New Zealand, where one million deer are now farmed. The predominant species being farmed in New Zealand is the red deer (Cervus elaphus) while for similar reasons of availability, European fallow deer are the predominant species being farmed in Australia. Fallow deer are the only deer species in Tasmania, being introduced early last century and now well established in a wild population estimated to be around 10,000 animals. In addition there are 7,000 fallow deer on deer farms and I shall confine my discussion to the breeding of fallow deer.