Case report: Malnutrition and undernutrition as cause of mortality in farmed reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.)

Abstract

Chronic diarrhoea evolved during the third year of farming in a group of six reindeer farmed in central Sweden. The first death occurred in July, and despite offering supplemental feed, the deaths continued. Within 9 months five animals (83%) were dead. The necropsy findings indicated emaciation in all cases. The initially adequate clover vegetation in the paddock had been depleted over the years, leading to malnutrition and undernutrition of reindeer in the summer season.

Keywords

• malnutrition
• undernutrition
• farmed reindeer
• nutrition
• pathology
• starvation