Antler removal in deer
National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare (NCCAW) Position Statement - March 1993
Background
1. Removal of antlers from farmed deer is essential for their own safety and for farmers' safety. Methods for removing antlers include surgical polling, castration, velvet antler removal and removal after maturation.
2. Deer are farmed for venison and velvet production. Most velvet production is from stag herds that are kept especially for this purpose. However, there is also a need to remove antlers from all breeding male deer and from young deer raised for venison production. Velvet antler is an important product of the Australian and New Zealand deer industries.
3. Males of all deer species in Australia cast their antlers annually and regrow them from permanent bony projections on the skull (the pedicles).
4. During its development the antler is covered by skin ('velvet') which carries blood and nerves to and from the antler. A strong sensory nerve output ensures that the deer is aware of the fragile, growing antler and protects it from damage.
5. During the maturation processes, the velvet is shed from the now hard antler which is composed of insensitive bone. Growth and maturation takes about 120 days.
6. Commercial "velvet" (antler in velvet) harvesting involves cutting the growing antler about 2 cm above the pedicle, usually with a saw. This procedure takes about 15 seconds and is accompanied by haemorrhage which is easily controlled by a tourniquet. Infection of the wound is almost unknown due to the specialised anatomy of the antler-pedicle junction.
7. Where the velveting procedure is undertaken without analgesia or anaesthesia, the deer's behaviour indicates that the cutting causes significant pain.
8. Existing requirements for using analgesia for the procedure are based on:
- the procedure's painful nature
- the existing requirement for analgesia for other surgical procedures conducted on adult animals
- the procedure being conducted mainly for economic return, and
- the procedure being repeated annually.
NCCAW's position
There is a need to remove antlers from deer for their own safety and for farmers' safety.
The National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare (NCCAW) accepts that harvesting velvet antlers as an agricultural enterprise can be conducted safely and humanely.
NCCAW has concerns that harvesting, without the use of appropriate analgesia (pain relief) is a painful procedure. Cutting deers' antlers before maturation, and without adequate pain relief, is cruel and should be prohibited.
NCCAW accepts that the safest and most humane way to do this is to remove the antlers in a late stage of growth, but before maturation, when the animals become very aggressive and dangerous to handle for several months.
Protecting the welfare of deer during velvet antler harvesting requires both safe and effective restraint of the deer as well as effective analgesia of the incision site. This can be achieved by using a cradle in an appropriate handling facility or by using a sedative or immobilising drugs. Proper facilities to restrain the deer safely are essential to avoid injuring the deer during harvesting.
Effective analgesia can be achieved by using regional nerve blocks on animals held in a suitable crush or under sedation, or by using drugs which fully immobilise and anaesthetise the deer for the procedure. However, currently available electro-immobilisation devices have not been shown to produce adequate analgesia for antler removal and must not be used.
States should enact legislation with a strict requirement for using effective analgesia in this procedure. Measures should be taken to ensure maximum compliance.