Woburn Park, extending to about 1.000 acres (410 ha) and the home of the Dukes of Bedford, once had the most extensive collection of deer species of any - private or otherwise - throughout the world. Red deer have been in the park for centuries. They are just about world-famous and are in great demand for their especially strong and characteristic antlers. Almost ten years ago a red deer stud was started with animals caught from the park, under the impulse of head deer keeper Callum Thomson. Obviously, the idea was to restrict the breeding in this part, which we will call "Woburn Farm" for the sake of simplicity, to selected animals only. Below you see a photograph of the very first stag taken into the breeding programme. [ Tavistock, anno 1995 ] Statistics of this selected herd are carefully kept. The pedigree of all animals bred at Woburn Farm is known and goes back to the animals that were originally caught from the park. Underneath you see photographs and statistics of the current Woburn Farm master stags. All photographs date from July 2002. [ Russell (age 11, hard antler 15.5 kg, points 29, antler length 101 cm) ] [ Drew (age 6, hard antler 13.34 kg, points 29, antler length 104 cm) ] [ Cairnsmore (age 5, hard antler 12.1 kg, points 29, antler length 92.5 cm) ] [ Jamie (age 5, hard antler 9.1 kg, points 25, antler length 92.5 cm) ] Good stags from Woburn Farm are internationally in great demand. Potential customers on the European continent, however, are very often put off by the extra costs of transport (crossing the Channel), the duration of the transport, etc. This is mostly the case if only 1 or a small number of animals are purchased. In order to solve this problem and as a special customer service Callum Thomson and Ludovic have worked out a joint venture. The system has integrally been accepted by Lord Howland. The formula is quite simple and works as follows: At the end of November a group of promising yearling stags will be exported from Woburn Farm (UK) to Stedemanshof (Belgium). Although the animals will from then onwards be in Belgium, they remain property of the Bedford Estates (Woburn Abbey). From the age of 2 years onwards these stags are ready to be sold to customers all over the European continent. Of course, potential customers can come and visit Stedemanshof during the summer months and make an early decision about their purchase after having seen the deer (by appointment only). And of course it is perfectly possible to send digital photographs to any e-mail-address or any other address the customer prefers. Prices and extensive information about these animals are obtainable from: Stedemanshof bvba, Ludovic and Nadine (see under "contact us" when visiting our website) Callum Thomson, head deer keeper at Bedford Estates (Woburn Abbey): Tel. +44 1 525 290 666 (Office) +44 1 525 290 261 (Home) Email : CallumThomson@tinyworld.co.uk