Artificial insemination has been widely employed in the breeding of red deer in China, and to date, more than 6,000 red deer have been bred through this method in over 150 farms across the country.
In 1992, the Harbin Specialties Institute of the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Agricultural Cultivation, adopted this technology for the first time in China's history.
In natural circumstances, a male red deer impregnates an average of 12 female partners annually, but the male is more likely to be killed in accidents due to its temperament, according to Zhao Yufang, a researcher with the institute.
With the use of artificial insemination, the sperm of a male red deer can be preserved at -196 Celsius for 30 years, and 300-500 female red deer can be impregnated with the sperm during that time.
The new technology has raised the impregnation rate to 63.3 percent, compared with 40 percent when the females are impregnated naturally.
The offspring of the artificially inseminated female produce more antlers, a very good invigorant. One kilogram of antlers sells at about US$650 on the international market.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2003)
