Carcass characteristics, meat quality and ecology of free-ranging reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) from Alaska and impacts of stress and nutritional therapy on farmed wapiti (Cervus elaphus )

Commercial, free-ranging reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) production in Alaska is a market driven business. Velvet antler production has been the primary market; however, venison production is becoming increasingly important as animal numbers increase and value of velvet antlers fluctuate. Productivity of reindeer populations is governed by many factors such as survival, recruitment, mortality, management and husbandry practices, range quality and supply, nutrition and disease. Productive management requires an understanding of the complexity of these various parameters and how they can influence population growth and venison production. This thesis outlines some of the parameters that influence venison production in free-ranging reindeer herds from Alaska and farmed wapiti.; Reindeer carcasses from male and female animals that ranged in age from calves to adults were purchased from Bering Sea Reindeer Products (BSRP), Nunivak Island, Alaska, USA. Pre-slaughter and abattoir procedures were observed and evaluated. Carcasses were split in half, weighed and separated into primal cuts of chuck, rib, loin and hindquarter. Each primal cut was weighed, boxed, and frozen. Meat quality and carcass composition was evaluated.; In contrast, domestic wapiti that received a electrolyte drink at the abattoir had lower 24-hr postmortem pH values and higher carcass yields than the control group that received only water during overnight lairage.; In terms of investigating technologies that may show utility in identifying pre-slaughter stressors, infra red thermography (IRT) dorsal temperatures may help detect stress and compare response in wild vs domestic species. Cattle that undergo the greatest stress appear to have lower dorsal temperatures and this trend appears to be opposite to the response that is observed in wapiti. Knowledge of the causes and effects of stress in ruminants and the use of techniques to mitigate it would improve both animal welfare and meat quality. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...