Red deer red deer was the most prestigious quarry, especially the mature stag, which in England was called a hart. Red deer are held in captivity for a variety of reasons. The meat of the deer, called venison, was until recently restricted in the United Kingdom to those with connections to the aristocratic or poaching communities, and a licence was needed to sell it legally, but it is now widely available in supermarkets, especially in the autumn. The Queen still follows the custom of offering large pieces of venison to members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and others. Some estates
Red deer American relatives. Subtle differences in appearance are noted between the various subspecies of red deer, primarily in size and antlers, with the smallest being the Corsican red deer found on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and the largest being the Caspian red deer (or maral) of Asia Minor and the Caucasus Region to the west of the Caspian Sea. The deer of central and western Europe vary greatly in size, with some of the largest deer found in the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe. Western European red deer, historically, grew to large size given ample food supply (including people's