An investigation has raised serious welfare concerns for reindeers last Christmas

Footage from eight Christmas events across the UK has highlighted significant welfare concerns for reindeer, with 75% of the animals displaying stress indicators like trembling or avoidance, an investigation by a group of animal rights organisations has found.

Reindeer: there’s nothing magical about their abuse in the UK

OneKind, Animal Aid, Born Free, and Freedom for Animals reviewed the footage and consulted Dr. Tayla Hammond, an expert in animal welfare and behavior, who confirmed the presence of numerous welfare issues.

The footage, obtained by the animal welfare groups and their supporters, documented various aspects of the events, including transport to the event, the display environment, reindeer behaviour, and interactions with the public.

Dr Tayla Hammond highlighted the following welfare concerns:

Physical Environment

• 75% of the animals displayed stress indicators, such as trembling or avoidance:

• Calm behaviours were only recorded in 12.5% of reindeer.
• Space provided for reindeer was considerably restricted in 87.5% of events, with poor ground conditions in 75% and loud noise exposure in 87.5%.
• Handlers often physically held reindeer in place, forcing interactions with the public and limiting their agency:

Behavioural Interaction

• Opportunities for natural behaviours were severely limited, with these types of behaviours, such as grooming, foraging, or resting, only observed in 25% of events.

In her conclusions, Dr. Hammond recommended that alternatives to live animal use in entertainment should be explored to reduce reliance on practices that compromise welfare.

Indeed, the four animal welfare groups are calling on event organisers to stop using reindeer in their Christmas celebrations this year. They encourage organisers to join the 209 events that previously featured live animals but have since switched to creative, animal-free alternatives. These include VR sleigh rides, animatronic reindeer, and ‘reindeer runs,’ where people in costumes raise funds for local community causes.

They did suffer

OneKind’s Head of Campaigns & Media, Eve Massie Bishop said:

The evidence is clear; reindeer did suffer in at least some of the UK’s Christmas celebrations last year. The UK public is a nation of animal lovers. We don’t think they would want to celebrate the season of festive joy at an event that knowingly risks compromising the welfare of reindeer.

Reindeer are majestic animals that belong in the vast wilderness of the Arctic Tundra, not on high streets, in town centres or narrow, busy lanes lined with bars. We urge event organisers to switch to alternative, more humane ways of celebration that don’t compromise animal welfare in 2025.

Isobel McNally, Campaigns Officer at Freedom for Animals said:

Evidence grows, year on year, that the use of reindeer for parades and displays poses serious risk of harm. The conditions documented by the team and analysed by Dr Hammond are known contributors to stress, which can have extremely negative psychological and physical consequences. Nobody needs to see a suffering reindeer locked in a tiny pen to have a good Christmas. It is time, in light of all this evidence, that this practice is finally brought to an end.

Born Free’s Captivity Research & Policy Manager, Chris Lewis said:

Reindeer are recognised as sentient beings under UK law that can experience joy but also fear and pain. The findings from last Christmas demonstrate that at a joyful time of year for humans can be filled with fear and pain for reindeer at festive events. We urge event organisers to make the progressive decision to join the 200+ events which no longer feature reindeer and adopt fun animal-free activities for all the family.

Reindeer abused for festive entertainment

Nina Copleston-Hawkens, Animal Aid Campaign Manager, said:

This new analysis of reindeer welfare by Dr Tayla Hammond highlights the suffering that reindeer endure in the name of ‘festive entertainment’. It is hard to imagine how stressful these events must be for reindeer – taken to a busy environment, surrounded by unfamiliar sights and smells and excitable people demanding interaction, and so often a long and gruelling journey away from where they live.

Indeed, it is saddening that even when the bright lights of the festive season are over, so many reindeer return to their lives in captivity – a life so at odds with the life they should be living in the wild. There is nothing merry or magical about diminishing an animal’s life for the sake of entertainment. It’s time for festive events around the UK to go animal-free.

Featured image and additional images supplied