Velvet antler harvesting from farmed deer — primarily red deer and wapiti — is practiced in New Zealand, China, and other countries, raising welfare concerns about the procedure and the management of these stress-sensitive animals.
Velvet antler harvesting causes unavoidable welfare harm to deer. Even under appropriate sedation, removal of vascularised growing antler is a surgical procedure causing pain. The restraint and handling required to administer sedation is itself highly stressful for prey species with strong flight responses. Post-harvest pain management is not universally practised. For species with strong wild fear responses, any repeated handling procedure causes significant welfare harm. The commercial benefit of velvet antler — primarily for products with limited scientific evidence of efficacy — is difficult to justify against the welfare cost to individual deer.