Reindeer to stay at home for Yuletide lockdown

Christmas is cancelled for the UK’s biggest herd of semi-wild reindeer – as their annual nationwide tour has been called off due to the Covid pandemic.

The herd of 150 reindeer is the biggest in the UK that lives in a natural, semi-wild habitat on the hills of the Ca i rngo rm s National Pa r k , as opposed to living in enclosures.

For over 30 years, the reindeer have toured around the UK throughout November and December, making appea ran ce s a t Christmas events in London, Wales, and even as far as Cornwall.

But this year the festive animals won’t be embarking on their Christmas tour, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reindeer herder Hen Robinson said: “It’s a real shame, because for a lot of people around the UK it’s their only chance to see the reindeer.

“We usually take a team of around four to six reindeer to each location.

“A lot of the events we go to are longstanding ones, that we’ve been visiting for more than 30 years now.

“But this year, the logistics of travelling are just not viable.

“We’re relatively lowrisk where we are up in the Scottish Highlands, so it’s better for us to just stay here rather than travelling around.”

But the reindeer won’t be totally out of work this Christmas period – as Cairngorm Reindeer are still taking their usual bookings for people wishing to visit the activity centre.

Hen said: “We’ll still be taking a guided tour out once a day to go up into the hills and see the reindeer.

“We’ve obviously had to make a few changes this year in cutting back numbers.

“But we’re still fully booked most days for our tours.”