Red deer farming: breeding practice, trends and potential in Poland – A Review

Red deer farming has started to play a greater role in modern agriculture and today is an interesting alternative for pig or cattle breeders. With regard to the low effort and high efficiency of maintenance, it may be expected that keeping these animals in fenced enclosures will be more popular over time. This trend is warranted by the fact that the demand on two main deer products: venison and antlers, is constantly rising, due to the quality of deer meat and prices of antler hunting trophies. Several countries of the world have already realized the scale of advantages to be derived from deer farming and today are world leaders in this area. Despite this expansion, the market still remains opened for deer products. Poland is a country with the climatic conditions, vast plain areas and varied vegetation that are fully sufficient to undertake large-scale deer farming, and to become a European leader. Therefore the aim of this review is to detail deer farming within the Polish framework and environmental conditions, and to illustrate its potential in sustainable modern agriculture and the economy.