Each year male deer grow antler, while they are regrowing, the developing antlers are covered in a soft skin with short furry hair, which resembles velvet in texture and hence the term ‘Deer Velvet Antler’.
This process of annual regeneration is unique to deer. In the wild, the male deer sheds its antlers each year.
Mountain Red Deer Velvet Antler is harvested to support this natural event. For farmed deer in New Zealand, it is recommended that the Deer Velvet Antler be removed in order to prevent the stags using them as weapons and damaging themselves and other deer as is common in the wild. The removal process is sustainable given its annual regeneration.