“Rīgas meži” has successfully relocated its herd of red deer from its territory in Tīnūži parish, on the outskirts of Ogre, to a deer park in Vidzeme. In compliance with animal welfare and safety requirements, 45 red deer were moved to Vidzeme. The company has provided information on the transfer of the animals, as well as on the liquidation of the herd and the holding, to the Agricultural Data Centre.

For SIA “Rīgas meži” it was important that all animal welfare requirements and safety conditions were observed during the relocation of the red deer. The company stresses that no deer was harmed in the process — indeed, the animals now have a new and safe home in a specialised deer park.

The new deer park owner purchased the animals with the aim of carrying out selective breeding and improving the herd's gene pool. This means crossing the bloodlines of animals from different herds — in this case, the former “Rīgas meži” deer with the members of the species already living in the Vidzeme park.

The animals were moved from the deer park in Tīnūži parish to the Vidzeme area in two stages. The calves and hinds were transferred at the end of last year, while the stags were moved in the spring, once they had cast their antlers. For safety reasons, transporting antlered animals is dangerous, as they can injure themselves and other deer as well as endanger people.

The red deer holding was located on the territory of the “Rīgas meži” environmental education centre “EkVidO”, or “EKOLOĢIJA. VIDE. GAISS”, in the company's Jugla forest district, Tīnūži parish. With the relocation of the animals now complete, the plan is to open the site of more than 100 ha to visitors and to develop educational and informational projects there on an even wider scale than before.

The history of the red deer herd

Since the autumn of 2021, “Rīgas meži” had been considering what to do with the red deer herd on the territory of the company's environmental education centre. The herd was established in 2004 in order to provide for selective breeding of red deer and the propagation of the species' population within the park (an enclosed area) for the needs of the forests managed by the company.

Around 20 years ago, several dozen red deer were released into this area, but at the same time the animal welfare rules were not fully observed. Specifically, the animals' genetic stock was not ensured and inbreeding was recorded, and the feed was not fully appropriate or enriched with nutrients and trace elements.

At the end of 2021, independent experts were brought in to assess the deer park and determine its possible future scenarios — the association “Bioloģisko lauksaimnieku un savvaļas dzīvnieku audzētāju asociācija”, along with an animal appraiser. They found that the originally defined objectives and needs behind the creation of the deer park (selective breeding of animals and propagation of the species' population) could not be met in this format, because irreversible changes had occurred over time in the animals' genetic stock, including inbreeding.

Based on the specialists' findings and on the regulations the company is required to observe, in 2022 “Rīgas meži” held two auctions of the red deer herd; both ended without result. After consulting specialists, in 2023 the company launched an auction of red deer hunting rights. This auction, too, ended without result.

As a result of the auctions, the question of the red deer herd received wider public attention, and one of the interested parties came forward with a proposal — to move the animals to their own deer park in Vidzeme.

Since the end of 2021, “Rīgas meži” has been open with the public about the condition of the red deer and the animals' further fate. Information about the auctions was sent to the media regularly and also published on the company's website.

Maintaining the deer park cost “Rīgas meži” around 40 000 euros a year. As the company has managed the park since 2008, more than half a million euros has been spent on its upkeep alone. It should be stressed that the company's articles of association do not provide for the maintenance and development of a red deer herd.