Red deer injuries and deformities

This is the image of a Red hind’s rear leg. I had caught an image of this particular deer during a trail camera survey. The ability of these animals to survive and function with such injuries is exceptional. The extent of the injury was starting to impact on the hip, and the ability for her to move about was clearly troubling. Further investigations post mortem revealed that this deformity was caused by a broken bone in the leg. Are ethos is about replicating the function of natural predators as closely as possible to maintain deer populations at a healthy level. Whilst we are not as efficient as natural predators, the approach I use demonstrates that with time and a bit of technology we can achieve something which is close. It is also important for the welfare of the individual animal, as the landowner stated, you would not keep livestock with such an injury.