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Injuries: Reindeer

Asked by Sarah DykeLiberal DemocratDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 17 November 2025UIN 89679

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many injuries were caused due to reindeers in the UK over the past year.

Answered by Karin Smyth

This information is not collected centrally. NHS England does not record hospital admissions specifically caused by reindeer. The closest available data is for admissions with the external cause ‘Bitten or struck by other mammals’. In 2024/25, there were 4,620 such admissions in England. However, this category covers a wide range of animals and is not limited to reindeer. It also does not capture all animal-related injuries such as those coded under ‘Car occupant injured in collision with pedestrian or animal’.

Data on hospital admissions by external cause is published by NHS England and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity

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