Thousands of farmers in Quynh Luu District of Nghe An Province have chosen deer farming as a means to escape poverty and improve their lives. However, hundreds of deer in the area were found dead without any specific reason, causing a huge loss to the farmers.
According to the Quynh Luu District Veterinary Department, since December 2010 to March 2011, about 487 deer died in 13 of the communes.
204 deer died in Quynh Yen commune, 157 in Quynh Xuan, 30 in Quynh Luong and 25 in Quynh Minh.
Autopsy results showed they had died due to swollen lung and liver. Tran Minh Hanh, director of the provincial Veterinary Department said that samples of flesh and some organs had been sent for further diagnosis.
In Quynh Yen commune, people started breeding deer way back in 1988. There are now 900 households breeding a total of 1,853 deer.
A farmer in the commune said that he had lost more than VND100 million (US$5,000) due to deer deaths recently and his family was facing hardship as a result. He hoped that local authorities would support his family with a loan to help him continue deer breeding.
He said that currently the price of stag is VND24 million ($1,200) and hind is VND15 million ($750).
Vu Ngoc Quy from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Quynh Luu District said that the district had around 16,000 deer. In 2010, with the selling price of VND6 million ($300) per kilogram, farmers made a profit of VND30 billion ($1.5 million).
The provincial People’s Committee has asked local agencies to disinfect areas and maintain a check of all deer killed, so as to keep a close watch on the situation. Until now, the local authorities have not formed any policy to support farmers as they have no budget to do so.
The provincial Veterinary Department has collected deer samples to find out the reason of the killer disease.
