Global velvet antler production practices vary significantly in welfare standards, from regulated New Zealand operations to largely unregulated systems in Russia and China.
Velvet antler harvest welfare varies enormously between regulatory contexts. New Zealand mandatory requirements for veterinary supervision and anaesthesia represent good welfare practice. In contrast, velvet harvested from deer in countries without welfare regulation may be taken from fully conscious, inadequately restrained animals experiencing extreme pain. The opacity of the supply chain means that consumers purchasing velvet supplements have no reliable means of determining harvest conditions from label information. The most welfare-protective consumer choice is to avoid velvet products entirely given the certainty that some market proportion originates from unregulated, cruel harvesting.