Each year male deer grow antler, while they are regrowing, the developing antlers are covered in a soft skin with short furry hair, which resembles velvet in texture and hence the term ‘Deer Velvet Antler’.

This process of annual regeneration is unique to deer. In the wild, the male deer sheds its antlers each year.

Mountain Red Deer Velvet Antler is harvested to support this natural event. For farmed deer in New Zealand, it is recommended that the Deer Velvet Antler be removed in order to prevent the stags using them as weapons and damaging themselves and other deer as is common in the wild. The removal process is sustainable given its annual regeneration.

Our Deer Velvet Antler is humanely collected under strict quality control methods to ensure the animals’ health and welfare are carefully considered. Deer Velvet Antler is humanely removed using local anaesthesia by a trained specialist and is a relatively quick and painless procedure designed to minimise stress for the animal. All Deer Velvet Antler collection is conducted in accordance with the New Zealand “National Velveting Standards” code of practice. Deer Velvet Antler naturally re-grows each year so can be regarded as fully sustainable.

To be effective as a nutrient-rich supplement, Deer Velvet Antler should be collected and processed approximately midway through their growth stage, prior to the start of any calcification occurring as the Deer Velvet Antler transitions into hard, bony antler.

Once the Deer Velvet Antler has been collected, the deer are released straight back out onto the farm to carry on with their day, this makes Mountain Red Deer Velvet Antler wonderfully sustainable.

Mountain Red exceeds all velveting standards and meets the standard code of conduct under National Velvetting Standards Body (NVSB). NVSB’s mission is to implement the Code of Recommendations and minimum standards for the welfare of deer during the removal of antlers. Mountain Red is fully accredited by Deer Industry New Zealand and we are also independently audited.

Yes, our Mountain Red deer are reared in the clean pristine mountains of the South Island of New Zealand where they are able to roam free.

Absolutely, we only supply premium, 100% natural, authentic New Zealand Deer Velvet Antler. That is all there is in each capsule. We do not use any fillers, binders, flow agents and certainly no carob! Our product is also fully traceable back to individual farms.

No. We were one of the first companies to insist that our Deer Velvet Antler be collected humanely but without the use of potentially dangerous sedation. This is better for our deer and better for you, as it ensures that there are no potentially harmful sedative residues (xylazine) remaining in the finished product.

No, they are not the same thing, although the two terms are often confused. Simply put, Deer Velvet Antler is the precursor of Antler. Deer Velvet Antler is a wonderful, natural source of bioactives, while Antler is just hard bone. At Mountain Red, we collect our premium Deer Velvet Antler at the optimum time during the season to ensure that all the amazing properties are well maintained and to ensure we are collecting Deer Velvet Antler and not Antler bone.

Mountain Red Deer Velvet Antler contains IGF-1 & IGF-2, which are a class of polypeptides. They are naturally occurring substances which are found in Deer Velvet Antler along with other ingredients including proteins, amino acids, collagen and lipids. This results in a product which helps to improve the body’s strength, stamina and athletic performance. Please see our science page for more details.

Absolutely! Mountain Red was the first (and remains the only) New Zealand Deer Velvet Antler product to undertake independent 3rd party testing of every product batch to assure compliance and safety. As part of our testing program, finished product batches are tested for drugs on the WADA Prohibited List and other banned substance lists in sport as well as prescription, over-the-counter, and illicit drugs not banned in sport. This Batch Certification verifies that samples of the product identified by brand name, product name, and batch number below have been tested at our ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory partner by instrumental screen using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and that no compounds were detected according to the details and method detection levels outlined in the BSCG Certified Drug Free® testing menu. The BSCG Certified Drug Free® program offers drug testing security to athletes and professionals across the spectrum of WADA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, PGA, LPGA, MLS, CFL, ATP, WTA, FIFA, FINA, AFL, NRL, NASCAR, UFC, CrossFit, NCAA, military, first responder, and other workplace drug testing programs.

No. New Zealand is blessed with wonderful natural resources conducive to livestock production. Deer farming in New Zealand is undertaken in a world renowned pure, clean and natural environment.

Scientific research has proven the quality of New Zealand Deer Velvet Antler to be equivalent to that of the Chinese Malu – traditionally deemed the gold standard for Deer Velvet Antler worldwide.

New Zealand maintains excellent disease-free status for all major diseases including BSE, TSE and Foot and Mouth Disease. Copies of this certification are available on request.

Deer Velvet Antler has a long, safe history of traditional use in many different countries and cultures around the world. It has been used for over 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine for yang weakness to tonify qi. Mountain Red Deer Velvet Antler was the first product of its type to attain classification as a LISTED THERAPEUTIC product in Australia. Deer Velvet Antler has been studied extensively in New Zealand by leading scientific and medical researchers for over thirty years.

Yes we do!

Currently all New Zealand sales are shipped by Courier Post free of charge.

We do offer discount codes from time to time so please feel free to sign up to our newsletter in order to ensure you don't miss out on upcoming offers!

If you wish to stock Mountain Red products in your store or on your website please feel free to email us with your details and where you operate. One of our Mountain Red team will then get back to you with further details.

There is a great deal of confusion and mixed messages about the correct answer to this important question. While we cannot comment on other brands, we can provide assurance that with Mountain Red product every batch is screened for banned ingredients by the world class Banned Substance Control Group.

With a foundation in anti-doping and sport drug testing, BSCG offers the Olympic standard in analytical testing for finished product brands, ingredient suppliers, manufacturing facilities, teams, leagues, athletes or other consumers that want to verify that the quality of products and ingredients meet expectations and ensure they are not contaminated with drugs or other agents that can lead to health concerns or positive drug tests. Currently we are the only New Zealand manufactured Deer Velvet Antler product that offers this level of assurance to our customers.

Please contact us at enquiries@mountainred.com to discuss how we can set you up with a Professional Account.

Absolutely! Dogs, and cats love the taste and will get the same benefits as us humans in terms of strength, immune support and joint health - and they get the added benefit of a glossy, healthy coat too!

For Maintenance and General Wellbeing
Adults : 1 to 2 x 500 mg capsule per day.  This can be increased in accordance with your health professionals advice as appropriate.
Children: 1 x 500mg capsule per day for maintenance.

To Support Training and Recovery
Adults : 2 to 4 x 500 mg capsule per day.

No we do not, nor will we ever do so. These types of products are usually highly concentrated single ingredient IGF, and not the amazing combination of active ingredients found in true powdered deer velvet antler. In addition they are of questionable legality in many juristrictions as they are not "dietary supplements". We are also aware if products that have been tainted with human IGF, or manufactured from deer blood. IGF in this form is most likely banned in sport.

Please email enquiries@mountainred.com and one of our friendly team will get back to you ASAP.

The capsules we use are bovine gelatin that is halal certified by the manufacturer.