Animal Welfare

The health and welfare of our animals is paramount to us at Deer Friends Reindeer Hire. Our deer are a part of our family and deserve nothing less than the best we can offer. We strive on a daily basis to maintain high welfare standards, while pushing to expand our knowledge though networking with other owners and keepers, keeping up to date with the latest research and undergoing continued professional development (CPD). 

Our qualifications extend from Animal Management diploma's to Animal Behaviour and Welfare degrees as well as plethora of experience. Each of our animals is individual, with their own characteristics, preferences and patterns of behaviour. We know each of them just like you know each of your family members. We provide our herd with high quality nutrition, housing and enrichment that we are always striving to improve.

We are supported in our journey by our amazing team of vets, who go above and beyond consistently to help keep our herd healthy on the day to day and when something may not be right. Their dedication and time is something we are incredibly thankful for.

Our reindeer are socialised and handled all year round. This helps to make their husbandry, less stressful and safer for them, but also means when we go to events they are confident and comfortable individuals. We use a positive reinforcement approach with our reindeer, meaning we use rewards for good behaviour and training. Some of our reindeer are working on co-operative care training, such as standing for injections like vaccinations and presenting hooves for inspection and trimming. Our training extends to travel and our reindeer are happy loaders and travellers thanks to our continuous training.

Things we keep in mind when attending events: 

• Travel time- we have a maximum I.5 hour each way travel. This minimises time spent in the trailer and means our reindeer come home every day back out into their fields with their herd. 
• Health- each animal is health checked prior to attending events. With four reindeer we always have a stand in if we are concerned one of our reindeer may not be fit to attend.
• One to one- When on display each reindeer has their own handler. This means that throughout the day each animal has the sole attention of their handler who is trained to meet all their needs and more. 
• Their needs- when on events, the reindeer always have access to fresh water, food and somewhere to rest. We never allow public to approach from all sides creating their own little space.