My first encounter with red deer was when my husband and I went to Australia and New Zealand to inspect livestock.
I saw many deer on a vast farm in Australia, but then I visited Wellington, New Zealand, where an acquaintance lives.
It is said that New Zealand has more sheep than people, and as soon as I arrived at the airport, I could smell the livestock and was impressed by the fact that New Zealand is a country of livestock farming.
A friend of mine took me on a tour of a deer farm, and that experience gave me the opportunity to introduce red deer.
My husband was deeply attracted to the movement of the group led by the big-horned boss deer, and the beauty of their shape.

At the rancher's house, I was treated to diced venison steak, and I was blown away by how delicious it was for the first time.

The rancher told me about the three main characteristics of venison. That left a very strong impression on me and was engraved in my heart.
1. Healthy with almost no fat (slender appearance)
2. High in lean meat and protein
3. Digestion time in the intestines is about 2 to 3 hours, the same as vegetables.

After hearing this, I became convinced that it has the potential to become an excellent protein source for an aging society.
In the end, due to an import trading company, we brought in 60 red deer from England from Scotland.
The red deer were grazed on the first 2 hectare plot of grazing land.
The rare red deer from England quickly became very popular, with locals often coming to see them.
After that, the number of red deer increased and they were used as meat.
It is sold as frozen meat, processed into barbecues, restaurants, sausages, jerky, and canned goods.
Fine horns were also very popular.
The logo of Tategamori Ark Farm has long been a symbol of a deer. This is what we called the deer mark.

At 1:00, there were about 350 red deer, but due to various circumstances since then, there are now only about 40, and they are no longer used for meat.
Red deer, which are gentler than sika deer, are still popular on the ranch.
The current Scottish Red Deers, many generations old since the beginning, have probably forgotten all about their hometown.

This time, we talked about Scottish red deer.

Shizu Hashimoto