‘I’m on special mission to help Santa’s helpers’
BRIT IS WORLD-LEADING REINDEER EXPERT
AN animal-loving Brit is now one of the world’s leading reindeer rescuers.
Steve Swinnerton, who calls himself the Reindeer Man, has spent 27 years saving Santa’s pals.
He now has 200 of the animals – the largest herd outside Scandinavia – on his farm in Staffordshire.
Not content with raising his own reindeer, the 67-year-old advises tribes in the Arctic and sub-arctic where the animals are under threat.
Climate change has exposed them to new illnesses, leaving them classified as “vulnerable” on the Red List of Threatened Species.
Steve said: “Everything in the Arctic Circle gets killed because of the snow. But now it’s warmer the bacteria isn’t being killed off.
“They’re getting diseases we deal with all the time here with sheep and cattle. They’ve never had this before so I go over to Finland with drugs and speak to the vets and show them how to combat it.”
Steve’s love of reindeer started with a bet when he was working in movies as an animal handler.
He said: “We were having a drink in the pub after filming and one of the horse wranglers bet me £20 I wouldn’t buy a reindeer for sale nearby.
“So I bought the reindeer. I was a farmer all my life and I just fell in love with reindeer from that moment.”
The wager took place in 1991 and since then Steve has expanded his herd by buying, rescuing and breeding more animals.
Staffordshire born and bred, the Reindeer Man moved to Blithbury Lodge in Rugeley in 2003 where the public can meet and learn about his creatures.
But the tourist attraction has had its problems – including poachers trying to steal his animals.
Steve said: “I bought this farm 15 years ago. I saved and worked, saved and worked to afford it. I used to live in a mobile home in the middle of a field with my reindeer.
“Poachers would hide out behind the farm and shoot the reindeer in the legs before setting dogs on them. It was heartbreaking. I decided to build a lodge in the middle of the plot so I could see everything.”
All the profits from visitors goes to support the welfare of his herd.
Steve reckons Father Christmas made a wise decision in using reindeer to take him around the world because it’s in their nature.
He said: “It’s in their DNA to pull a sleigh – they’re the only ones that would do it.
“It would be cruel to put any other deer in a harness, but they’re the oldest domesticated animal in the world so they know what to do.”