Sika deer breeding in NE China’s Jilin brings wealth to locals

“My family began to farm four or five sika deer when I was a teenager. We are now raising 40 deer and sell deer products through online and offline channels. We plan to raise more than 100 deer,” said Wang Qiang, a farmer in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province.

Wang, from Liujia village, is one of the deer breeders in Luxiang township, Shuangyang district. Ninety percent of over 50,000 residents in the township branded as the “hometown of Chinese sika deer” rely on this industry.

“So far, there are 140,000 deer in our township, accounting for one-sixth of the total number of deer farmed in China. We also have 8,500 deer breeders and 1,400 small and medium-sized deer farms,” said Li Bing, Party chief of the township.

According to Li, the township is home to over 40 companies in terms of production, research and development of sika deer, including 13 leading enterprises at or above the municipal level, as well as more than 200 farmer cooperatives and family farms.

The official added that the per capita net income for rural residents in the township hit 25,850 yuan (over $3,800) last year, compared with over 10,000 yuan for rural residents in the district.

Established in 2006, Bowen, a representative of local companies, has four deer farms and a stock of 3,000 sika deer, with an annual output of more than three tons of pilose antlers and 300 tons of liquor.

By the end of last year, the company had seen a sales revenue of 50 million yuan, realized a total profit and tax of 6.6 million yuan, and driven more than 500 local and surrounding farmers to develop the sika deer industry.

In recent years, Shuangyang has further tapped into its advantages in the sika deer industry to develop the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas. This year, a sika deer museum in the district opened to the public to push integrated development in rural areas.

Photo shows a sika deer museum in Shuangyang district, Changchun in northeast China’s Jilin province. (Photo/Wang Haiyue)