Letter: Slights on Santa's sleigh-pullers

Sir: Reading 'The last thing Santa needs' (21 December), I would like to point out a few mistakes.

1. Reindeer that are trained to pull sleighs are oxen, ie castrated bulls. Female reindeer (cows) are not sufficiently strong. Reindeer oxen do not lose their antlers until the beginning of the new year and would therefore be available for Santa's use. The Lapps use only reindeer oxen to pull sledges and carry packs as they are calmer, stronger and in better condition in the winter than the bulls since they have not had to go through the demanding rutting routine in the autumn.

2. Reindeer oxen can pull a load of 300lb on a sleigh or carry a pack of 65lb on a simple saddle on their backs for up to half a day, and so are not as weak as your article suggests.

3. It is also not true that reindeer cannot be raced in sub-zero temperatures. Both the Lapps in Scandinavia and the Eastern Russian reindeer-herders race them, the driver being either on skis, on sledge or sitting on a saddle.

4. I do not think reindeer find the winter uncomfortably warm in all areas of Britain. A greater problem is the supply of a suitable diet, primarily lichens. Once this has been solved, they can thrive, as evidenced by the continuation of the herd introduced to the Cairngorm area of Scotland in 1952 by my father.

Yours faithfully,

VINCENT UTSI

Aldreth, Cambridgeshire

21 December