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Stress

There are many perceptions about what ‘stress’ is and we mainly think about it in human terms and consider ‘stress’ to be bad for our health. But from a physiological and evolutionary perspective, stress has a different context and can be good and bad!

Stress is a physiological state in which the body responds (behaviourally and/or physiologically) to a challenge (a ‘stressor’) that can threaten the well-being of the animal.

The outcome of a physiological stress response largely depends on how the situation is perceived by the animal. A physiological stress response can be perceived as ‘positive’ (e.g. during mating) and as ‘negative’ (e.g. when attacked by a predator). 

Positive stress
Negative stress
What does the adrenal gland do?
Stressors facing farmed deer
How does stress affect production?
How do I mitigate these effects?

More resources

The topic Minimising stress in breeding and venison herds is available in convenient DINZ Deer Fact sheets. Download your own copy here >>

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