Rio Galguiche, San Martin airport April 16, 1980 I am sitting in the truck with Jorge, watching heavy rain and snow. Woody and Ted are fishing. From Jorge I have just learned that there is a thriving venison industry here, much of the meat going to western Europe. The red deer is so abundant on some of these estancias that the ranchers want them kept down. The local office of Direccion General de Recursos Ganaderos issues permits to commercial deer hunters to take specific number of animals from specific areas. All sexual age classes are shot except tiny fawns, which are kept for sport shooting. Bodies of the deer that are gutted and skinned on the spot, then delivered for sale to a wholesaler in San Martin, who keeps them refrigerated until a truckload can be sent to Buenos Aires. From there the dressed meat goes by ship to Europe to compete with deer from New Zealand and Scotland. The value of a deer carcass here is about $1.00 a pound which is close to the price of dressed venison in New Zealand. Antlers shed by the fawns are gathered up by gamekeepers and these are sent to the Orient. Deer are doing better here as livestock industry shifts from sheep to cattle. Santa Gertrudis and Zebu strains are being used extensively and number of sheep and goats are steadily falling. Hence the ranges are in much better shape than formerly, which benefits deer and doubtless other vertebrates. April 17, 1980 Jorge drove me to Bariloche. River high and dirty, including Jaquel. Flew home.