12 CIECULAR 8 2, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE 



and best bucks of dark color should be retained for breeding purposes 

 and the remainder grown as steers. 



White animals are inferior and should be promptly removed from 

 the breeding herd, the males by castrating and the does by slaughter- 

 ing. Spotted reindeer, while superior to the white animals, are in- 

 ferior to the dark ones, and those of the lighter shades may well 

 be disposed of. The distinctly steel-gray reindeer, however, seem 

 to be fully as large and strong as the dark-colored ones and are 

 suitable for breeding. The dark-colored animals are superior, and 

 breeding therefore should be generally toward the dark color. 



BUTCHERING 



The best time for slaughtering reindeer is in the fall, during 

 October, November, and the first part of December. Steers are at 

 their prime in October and November, although the meat is in almost 

 equally good condition during September and the first half of De- 

 cember. In September, however, rutting is in progress and the herds 

 should not be disturbed. By December 20 the reindeer are begin- 

 ning to lose their fat and the parasitic warble grubs are developing 

 to a considerable size, so that after that date the meat becomes less 

 and less valuable. In favorable seasons, however, animals may con- 

 tinue in good condition to the middle of January. 



Bucks should never be killed for food, as the meat has an objec- 

 tionable odor and taste and spoils easily. If bucks are to be slaugh- 

 tered they should be castrated prior to the rutting period, or not later 

 than the middle of August. The animal will then fatten and be in 

 condition to kill later in the season and will not have the strong odor 

 and taste. 



Keindeer may be killed either by shooting or by pithing, which 

 consists in stunning the animal with a single oblique thrust of 

 the knife at the back of the neck into the base of the brain. If 

 handled on the open range the animal may best be shot, but if at a, 

 modern slaughterhouse and through a chute, pithing is the method 

 employed. Following either shooting or pithing, the throat should 

 be cut immediately, the animal bled, and the gullet tied to prevent 

 regurgitation of the contents of the stomach and resulting contami- 

 nation of the interior of the dressed carcass. It is probable that the 

 contents of the stomach contain the spores of mold, and these should 

 be prevented from spreading to the carcass. As soon as the throat is 

 cut the carcass should be hoisted to permit prompt and thorough 

 drainage of the blood. The old method of killing by driving a knife 

 through the brisket and into the heart and bleeding the animal 

 internally is inhumane and should not be permitted. 



In modern slaughterhouses, the reindeer are passed through a 

 chute onto a platform, where they are killed and bled, and the car- 

 casses are then conveyed through a trap into the slaughterhouse and 

 there hoisted by block and tackle for dressing. Where corral and 

 chute are not available in connection with slaughtering, reindeer 

 may be killed on the open range by shooting, and the carcasses 

 hauled in by sled to a temporary shed or tripod, where they can be 

 hoisted for dressing. 



Under the old method of roping in a small inclosure, it has been 

 found that the animals become bruised and excited. Upon butcher- 



