This time we will talk about the Scottish red deer breeding that has been carried out at Tategamori Ark Farm since it first opened.
Of course, as the name suggests, the red deer of today are the descendants of red deer that came from as far away as Scotland.

In 1989, Emperor Showa passed away and the Heisei era began. In January of that year, 60 red deer arrived at Narita Airport after completing quarantine in the middle of a snowstorm.
The acclimatization process has begun.

The ranch was built with high stakes and fences, and grazing began in May when the grass had grown green.
Although it was not open to the public, rumors spread that "a rare deer had come from England," and many people from the local area came to see it.
Their slender figures, big round eyes, and the way they gather in groups in the spacious pastures were a sight to behold.
In time, chickens (Hypeconella), geese, ponies, and other animals were gradually added, and the Herb Hall/Herb House,
A herb garden was created and opened as "Tategamori Ark Farm" in June 1992.

The most popular attractions are the Scottish Red Deer and the herb garden.
The first logo mark was a deer and lavender design.

We even invited an expert from Scotland for several months to provide training on raising red deer.
The original purpose of introducing red deer as livestock, utilizing the vast agricultural land developed by the government, was to fatten them and use them for meat.
The characteristics of venison are: 1) low fat, 2) high protein, 3) quick digestion.
In this way, venison was considered to be a suitable meat for the aging society that was predicted at the time.

The meat sold is in frozen blocks.
Processed products include sausages, jerky, dried salami, and canned Yamatoni.
It is also available as a BBQ and restaurant menu. Young horns are also sold as an ingredient in herbal medicine.
As breeding techniques improved, the number of these animals gradually increased.
After 10 years, the population had grown to about 350.

However, in 2011, the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake caused a problem of radioactive contamination. Livestock that had been grazed and eaten grass could no longer be sold.
The business is now focused solely on tourism, and we have been forced to reduce the number of horses.
(At that time, grazing of pigs was also prohibited.)
I must also mention the other deer. The white deer (Farrow deer) arrived from another area around 2013.
The white deer is said to be a messenger of God, and although it was treasured, it gradually became unable to exert its presence.
Another thing is Ezo deer, whose meat is said to be the most delicious, and about 10 of them were brought in from Hokkaido around 1995.
They never got used to humans and were a real pain to deal with, so they eventually went extinct. This is a story of many events in the history of deer farms.

The remaining 32 red deer looked over the fence and munched on small pears from my hand.
The sight of them munching and munching is very cute, but the red deer business has not been viable for a long time.

Unfortunately, history moves and the world changes. Ark Tategamori is also seeing an increase in the number of sheep, which had previously only played the role of weed control.
It has emerged for meat consumption.
Delicious lamb. This in itself gives us hope for the future, and I'm really looking forward to it.
(Cuteness and deliciousness are not contradictory. This is the nature of the livestock industry.)

Shizu Hashimoto