A Thai hunter who once killed deer for their meat and prized velvet antlers has launched a business that he says protects the creatures but still allows him to profit from them.
"I knew my hunting days were over when I could no longer bring myself to shoot the deer," Suratit Sirachareonchai said.
Poachers hunt the stags for their highly-valued antlers, which are used in a variety of traditional Chinese medicines that claim to increase potency, beautify skin and aid digestion.
Professing a love for the gentle animals, Suratit turned in his gun three years ago, imported 40 Sika deer from Vietnam and started breeding with the blessing of the Thai government.
He now operates a 0.4-hectare deer farm in Nakorn Ratchasima province, about 250km northeast of Bangkok, where he has more than 250 stags and Bambi-like does.
The deer, which Suratit treats more like family members than livestock, eat out of his hand and live a seemingly pampered existence.
Overcrowding
But the introduction of deer farming to Thailand is not without controversy.
Dr John Henshaw, of the Pung-Waan Resort and Nature Reserve west of Bangkok, maintains that despite the animals' affection for Suratit, they are being kept in inadequate conditions.
"A herd of this size should graze freely on a pasture of at least 80 acres. Such overcrowding causes stress to the animals and leads them to actually kill their offspring," he said.
Moreover, the trimming of the stags' soft-and-fuzzy antlers is often done inhumanely, Henshaw said.
Suratit trims his stags' antlers every 45 to 60 days and sells them to Thailand's flourishing Chinese medicine trade, netting a handsome profit.
"A kilogram of these antlers will reach prices of 10,000 baht (US$220) fresh or 50,000 baht (US$1,100) dried," Suratit said, pulling a bag of antlers from an icebox to show off the dividends of his investment.
Henshaw said a stags' antlers should not be trimmed before they have grown 90 days or it is quite painful.
"I won't touch the antler business," he said. "It's an amputation. The antler is cut when the nerves are still active and the blood is still flowing -- it's like cutting off a finger."
Booming market sector
Traditional Chinese medicine, popular throughout Southeast Asia and in Asian communities all over the world, has mushroomed in Thailand recently. The government began regulating the trade a year ago.
"Chinese medicine is becoming increasingly popular in Thailand, both among the Chinese and the Thai communities," said Kanitda Narongsak of Bangkok Hospital's Department of Chinese Medicine.
"Doctors from both nations frequently liaise to discuss new treatments and techniques," she said.
Products advertised on the Internet as containing deer antler extract command a high price, with bottles of liquid medicine or capsules costing US$55-US$70, and Suratit is eyeing expansion into the lucrative international market.
Suratit, who owns land around his farm, hopes to widen his operation -- modelled after deer farms in New Zealand, which generate some US$110 million annually -- to encompass 2,000 of the animals within the next few years.
Henshaw was doubtful deer farmers in Thailand could reach the success of those in New Zealand, however, given their limited knowledge and resources.
"Thai farmers lack the biological and zoological knowledge necessary for the upkeep of deer. Too many farmers are in the business just to make money," he said.
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