A Deer farm near Launceston has become the first in the world to achieve animal welfare certification for deer.

The herd of deer at West Country Premium Venison is now Certified Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Grassfed and Certified Non-GMO by A Greener World (AGW). The company’s lamb has also achieved the same distinctions.

Part of a portfolio of farm certifications offered by A Greener World, the Certified Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) by AGW label verifies animals are raised outdoors on pasture in accordance with world-renowned welfare standards using sustainable agriculture methods on an independent farm.

This is the first farm globally to be certified to A Greener World’s new Animal Welfare Approved deer standards. The Smiths also raise New Zealand Romney sheep.

Pip and Matt Smith (pictured left) launched West Country Premium Venison in December 2019. The farm has been in Pip’s family since 1703 and the couple took over the running of it together from her parents in 2014 with a flock of roughly 1,100 sheep.

The Smiths were awarded Sheep Farmer of the Year in 2017 by the Farmers Weekly Awards and Matt, originally from New Zealand, currently holds the Nine Hour Full Wool Ewe World Shearing Record – the first such record held in the Northern Hemisphere.