For the majority of Russian hunters, the concept of “farm” is inextricably linked with farming, and few people know about the existence of many farms of wild animals — such popular all over the world. But in recent years this topic has become relevant for Russia, increased interest in the experience of other countries in this matter.
From 25 to 28 July this year at the farm Saulstari in Latvia held an international competition of a deer antler and Scientific-practical conference “Theoretical and practical aspects of the successful management of reindeer husbandry”. The event has attracted the attention not only of breeders of deer from different European countries (UK, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), but also from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Australia and leading international companies whose business is directly connected with reindeer herding.
The event was organized by the International Association of breeders of deer and wild ungulates (IDUBA), the only Association representing breeders of deer, scientists and companies whose business is connected with reindeer herding activities. But it would not have taken place without the support of local organizers of Scientific Institute of food safety, animal health and the environment of Latvia (BIOR) and the Latvian Association of organic farmers and breeders of wild animals (OFWABA-BLSDAA).
At the conference, Russia was represented by the company Deerland, which was also one of the sponsors of the conference. It should be noted, the Russian language dominated in other European languages, so most of the reports were translated in English. The poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Czechs and most of the other participants of the Russian language was well known, and this greatly facilitates not only an understanding of the reports, but also communication behind the scenes.
The conference program was very rich and interesting.
After the official opening, reports followed one another, and each was no less interesting than the previous one. So the short breaks often turned into discussions of the topics addressed and blended into discussions and negotiations about cooperation.
President IDUBA Dr. Tomas Landete (Spain) spoke in detail about the activities of the Association, and then made a report on the diet of the deer, which this time was dedicated to nutrients (carbohydrates from sugar to fiber, protein, lipids, etc.). Dr. Tomas explained how the digestive system of ruminants and their rumen (the main center of microbial fermentation of food), in case of violation of balance of which, for example, when taking deer a large quantity of grain, is dehydration, which occurs after the death of the animal. He also talked about the different types and the measurement of energy and many other interesting facts.
Very great interest was aroused by the report of Mr. Bartlomiej Dmuchovski (MILU, Poland), who spoke about the different types of fences and frequent errors in designing corridors, walls, gates, etc. His report was so Packed with information, so necessary for most breeders that was interrupted by numerous questions and lasted much longer than planned. But Mr. Bartek was able to help many beginning farmers to understand their mistakes and to rethink the organization of their enclosures.
Special interest of participants was caused by reports of representatives of the Russian company Sergei Deerland Aleskerova and Natalia Bystritskaya, which was very topical in light of the imposition of sanctions, and especially for our neighbors, very interested in the Russian market. Sergei told about the current situation and prospects of development of reindeer husbandry in Russia, highlighting how legal issues and various pitfalls of the case arising on the way of farmers. He also mentioned about the situation with the market of meat and other products of deceasedeng, which is very controversial in Russia. His wife, Natalia Bystritskaya, spoke about the services provided by the company Deerland, about modern solutions to keep wild animals, how is the process of planning and creating farms that provide their animals and feed and much more. In addition, she spoke about her own small farm fallow deer and mouflon in the Tver region, which they see as a training center in which the new farmers were able to obtain initial experience with animals.
No less interesting was the report Pokoradi Jaroslav (Slovakia), who spoke on the subject of biotechnological methods (artificial insemination and synchronization of ovulation).
His report was very relevant, as most novice breeders don’t realize the complexity of the process of artificial insemination and its dependence not only on the time of year, conditions, but also from the status of a particular animal.
The theoretical part of the report segued into a practical, fence the seed of one of the reindeer on the farm and its processing using modern equipment. It should be noted that a great help in the process of demonstration was provided by Mr. Jaroslav Pokoradi our compatriot, the owner of the farm “Deer” Rinat? Due to biological education and their fluency in the English language, he easily was able to explain many of the processes are difficult to transfer to the layperson.
Mr. Jan Zahora (company VVS-Premin, Czech Republic) told about the done experiments on the feeding of deer, which was held in cooperation with the Czech Agricultural University. It is possible to create special mineral supplements not only to domestic animals but for wild animals. Thanks to them you can not only maintain the animals in excellent condition, but to regulate the process of growth of antlers, achieving a great trifanesti.
There were a lot of reports, but the greatest interest was how the farm itself is Saulstari, which is owned by Mr. Dainis Paeglitis and international competition horns, which lasted only two days.
This year’s absolute winner was the member IDUBA, Mr. Yaroslav Pokoradi, (283.4 CIC, British type horns; Slovakia), second place went to Mr. Shober, Franz (Austria, 272.3, European style horns) and third place went to Mr. Hans Honold (Germany, European style horns 267.7). The top ten included other members IDUBA, for example, Mr. Gintautas Cepas(241 CIC), the Vice-President IDUBA Mr. Dainis (239 CIC).
Overall, the conference once again confirmed the great interest in deer farms, and, although the Russian movement of farmers and breeders of wild animals very young (not to mention the velvet antler of the red deer farms), they have significant promise. And not only for hunting and hunting economy, but also for agriculture in General. Because here the development and unsuitable for agriculture lands, and restoration of abandoned farmland, and therefore the emergence of new jobs and new industries of agriculture, so popular throughout the world and is almost forgotten and neglected in our country —
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