Famous Highlands stag fed by tourists put down over health concerns

A Highlands red deer known to approach tourists for their snacks has been put down over health concerns.

Callum the stag was a familiar sight at Torridon’s Beinn Eighe car park, in the north-west Highlands, due to his willingness to walk up to tourists and accept food from human hands.

But the animal, described as a “local legend”, has had to be humanely euthanised by National Trust Scotland (NTS).

“We are saddened to say that following expert vet advice, Callum the stag, who was often found in the car park at Torridon, has had to be humanely put down,” a NTS spokesperson said.

“We know that many in the community, and visitors too, will be sorry to hear this. As a conservation charity, we take our responsibilities for animal welfare seriously and the advice was that this was the kindest option.”

While the spokesperson for the NTS did not reveal the stag’s health issues, the Ross-shire Journal reported that his condition had deteriorated in recent years, citing the issue of visitors feeding wildlife as a common problem across the Highlands.

Other reports said that being fed the wrong types of food, such as human snacks, had caused the stag’s teeth to rot, making it difficult for him to forage and leaving the stag reliant on being fed by tourists as a food source.

The NTS expert vet assessment, according to the Telegraph, found Callum was suffering pain and discomfort from poor body condition, poor coat condition and arthritis.

“Callum was a wild animal who became a bit of a local legend,” Highlands historian Andrew Grant McKenzie told the Ross-shire Journal.

“Hopefully his life has highlighted the importance of respecting our natural world in the Highlands and not feeding the deer things which they wouldn’t be able to browse themselves naturally.”