Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2008, 50:8 http://www.actavetscand.com/content/50/1/8 free access of the herd to Cu-containing salt licks obvi- ously did not meet the animals' Cu demand. Good and stable results were achieved by the daily feeding of Cu- enriched concentrates, used during the second part of this study. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors' contributions KH performed the post mortem examination, grouped the data, and drafted the manuscript. AB was responsible for the trace element analyses and results, and also contrib- uted in writing the manuscript. MSA performed the clini- cal observations and collection of samples. The parasitological examination of faecal samples was carried at Section for Parasitology, Norwegian School of Veteri- nary Science. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the owners of the herd, J.B. Ugland and H. Støyl, for their co-operation which made this study possible. Appreciation is also expressed to Thor Waaler for performance of the chemical analyses. References 1. Radostits OM, Gay CC, Hinchcliff KW, Constable PD: Veterinary Med- icine 10th edition. London: Saunders Elsevier, Edinburgh; 2007. 2. Clark RG, Hepburn JD: Deer liver and serum copper levels. Sur- veillance 1986, 13:11-14. 3. Wilson PR: Bodyweight and serum copper concentrations of farmed red deer stags following oral copper oxide wire administration. N Z Vet J 1989, 37:94-97. 4. Fyffe JJ: Serum copper concentrations and clinical signs in red deer (Cervus elaphus Serum) during drought in central Victo- ria. Austral Vet J 1996, 73:188-191. 5. Wilson PR, Grace ND: A review of tissue reference values used to assess the trace element status of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus). N Z Vet J 2001, 49:126-132. 6. Barlow RM, Butler EJ: An ataxic condition in red deer (Cervus elaphus). J Comp Path 1964, 74:519-529. 7. Wilson PR, Orr MB, Key EL: Enzootic ataxia in red deer. N Z Vet J 1979, 27:252-254. 8. Thompson KG, Audigè L, Arthur DG, Julian AF, Orr MB, McSporran KD, Wilson PR: Osteochondrosis associated with copper defi- ciency in young farmed red deer and wapiti × red deer hybrids. N Z Vet J 1994, 42:137-143. 9. Handeland K, Bernhoft A: Osteochondrosis associated with cop- per deficiency in a red deer herd in Norway. Vet Rec 2004, 155:676-678. 10. Knox DP, Reid HW, Peters JG: An outbreak of selenium respon- sive unthriftiness in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus). Vet Rec 1987, 120:91-92. 11. Mackintosh CG, Gill J, Turner K: Selenium supplementation of young red deer (Cervus elaphus). N Z Vet J 1989, 37:143-145. 12. Vikøren T, Bernhoft A, Waaler T, Handeland K: Liver concentra- tions of copper, cobalt, and selenium in wild Norwegian red deer (Cervus elaphus). J Wildl Dis 2005, 41:569-579. 13. Saxegaard F: Isolation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis from intestinal mucosa and mesenteric lymph nodes of goats by use of selective Dubos medium. J Clin Microbiol 1985, 22:312-313. 14. Bernhoft A, Waaler T, Mathiesen SD, Flåøyen A: Trace elements in reindeer from Rybatsjij Ostrov, north western Russia. Rangifer 2002, 22:67-73. 15. Handeland K, Flåøyen A: Enzootic ataxia in a Norwegian red deer herd. Acta Vet Scand 2000, 41:329-331. 16. Peters JG: Herd health programs. In Management and Diseases of Deer 2nd edition. Edited by: Alexander TL, Buxton D. Midlothian, Scotland: Macdonald Lindsay Pindar; 1994:61-65. 17. Mackintosh CG: Deer health and disease. Acta Vet Hung 1998, 46:381-394. 18. Jones DG: Trace element deficiencies. In Management and Dis- eases of Deer 2nd edition. Edited by: Alexander TL, Buxton D. Midlo- thian, Scotland: Macdonald Lindsay Pindar; 1994:182-191. 19. Castillo-Alcala F, Wilson PR, Molenaar R, Lopez-Villalobos N: Effi- cacy, distribution and faecal excretion of copper oxide wire particles in a novel bolus in red deer (Cervus elaphus). N Z Vet J 2007, 55:81-86. Publish with Bio Med Central and every scientist can read your work free of charge "BioMed Central will be the most significant development for disseminating the results of biomedical research in our lifetime." Sir Paul Nurse, Cancer Research UK Your research papers will be: available free of charge to the entire biomedical community peer reviewed and published immediately upon acceptance cited in PubMed and archived on PubMed Central yours — you keep the copyright Submit your manuscript here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/publishing_adv.asp BioMedcentral Page 4 of 4 (page number not for citation purposes)