Body condition, as a sign of animal welfare, is of management concern in rewilding projects
where fenced animals are subject to winter starvation, which may conflict with animal
welfare legislation. Investigating the relationship between body condition, age, sex, diet
quality and diet composition is therefore relevant to increase understanding of herbivores'
ecosystem function and to inform management. In this study, we focused on red deer,
Cervus elaphus, in a fenced nature reserve in Denmark, where the deer are managed as …