Vladimir Putin 'bathes in blood extracted from severed deer antlers' believed to boost health, according to extraordinary claim in Russian media

  • The Kremlin leader, 64, is said to be taking the blood baths 'several times a year'
  • As well as aiding men's health, it is also said to act as a potency booster for men 
  • Putin allegedly went to Altai Mountains where 70kg of antlers were cut for him
  • Animal rights activists have condemned 'barbaric' practice of removing antlers 

Vladimir Putin is bathing in blood extracted from the severed antlers of Maral deer in an attempt to boost his health, according to extraordinary reports in the Russian media.

Ahead of a visit to the Altai Mountains last year, some 70 kilograms of stag antlers were prepared for the Russian leader 'to take antler baths', reported a local media outlet. 

The ancient tradition is seen as a testosterone-driven elixir to improve male health and potency, and he is said to be taking the blood baths several times a year.

Animal rights campaigners have condemned the 'barbaric' practice of sawing off the antlers without anaesthetic to extract blood, dubbed a natural type of sexual performance enhancing substance.

A deer is held by the antlers in the pen before they are severed from its body to extract blood

A deer is held by the antlers in the pen before they are severed from its body to extract blood

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches an aerobatics team performance at the opening ceremony of the MAKS-2017 (the International Aviation and Space Show) in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow on Tuesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches an aerobatics team performance at the opening ceremony of the MAKS-2017 (the International Aviation and Space Show) in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow on Tuesday

A man in blue bathing shorts takes a bath in the deer blood, which is meant to boost health

A man in blue bathing shorts takes a bath in the deer blood, which is meant to boost health

Outside the pen, a man boils up the blood in a bottle and a pot to froth it up in preparation for the bath

Outside the pen, a man boils up the blood in a bottle and a pot to froth it up in preparation for the bath

A woman poses in a blood bath similar to the one Vladimir Putin is said to have been using

A woman poses in a blood bath similar to the one Vladimir Putin is said to have been using

Putin, 64, first asked about the medicinal benefits of maral - or red deer - antler extract a decade ago and his prime minister Dmitry Medvedev is also keen on the blood baths, reported news outlet Republic.

Since that time the President has apparently visited Altai many times, sometimes as frequently as several times a year.

He consulted maral blood medical expert Alexander Zuykov, according to Expert magazine.

There are unconfirmed claims the Kremlin strongman introduced ex-Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to the practice during a Siberian visit in 2015.

One Altai farm - which exports antlers for use in Chinese medicinal cures - stated: 'Extract from red deer antlers acts as a strong tonic, especially for men's potency.

'It strengthens the body's bones, muscles, teeth, eye sight and hearing, cures pleurisy, pneumonia, asthma, joint pain, osteoporosis, and problems with the spine'.

The antlers were called horns of gold in 15th century Russian literature - and are believed to improve sexual performance.

Blood is extracted and boiled into a broth which is used for red-coloured baths.

Two men stand on the deer's back, one man stands just beneath its eyes as they prepare to saw off his antlers

Two men stand on the deer's back, one man stands just beneath its eyes as they prepare to saw off his antlers

A man plants his foot right on the front of the animal's head. Animal rights campaigners have condemned the 'barbaric' practice of sawing off the antlers without anaesthetic to extract blood, dubbed a natural type of sexual performance enhancing substance

A man plants his foot right on the front of the animal's head. Animal rights campaigners have condemned the 'barbaric' practice of sawing off the antlers without anaesthetic to extract blood, dubbed a natural type of sexual performance enhancing substance

Some Russians prefer to drink the blood, for example TV presenter Lena Lenina.

Disturbing accounts tell how the animals are 'herded into a special cutting chamber where a press closes in on the stag from each side, while the floor lowers, so the deer is left in suspended animation, its head thrust onto a ledge as if condemned to the guillotine, its hooves flailing but unable to touch the ground'.

Observers say the creatures are 'bewildered' and 'shellshocked', their eyes 'bulging with fright' .

Some Russians also drink the blood, including TV presenter Lena Lenina (pictured)

Some Russians also drink the blood, including TV presenter Lena Lenina (pictured)

'Two or three stand on the stag's back from above, one holds the prized antlers, his trainer on the animals muzzle, immobilising the head. One cuts the antlers, his foot on the back of the neck, preventing the beast moving a centimetre until it is divested of its valuable trophy'.

Irina Novozhilova, president of Russian Animal Protection Centre Vita, said the method was 'totally abnormal'.

'Blood baths. This is manipulating nature, without any sense,' she said.

'It is a pure example of a cruel attitude to animals.'

She suggested the process was medieval, saying: 'It is strange that we are discussing this matter in the 21st century, because the faith in the effectiveness of this medicine made from antlers comes from ancient times.

'Ancient people did believe that they could cure themselves with the help of animal body parts.

'In medieval times people also believed in curative substances. I recall stories about bloody Countess Bathory who enjoyed taking baths in the blood of young girls.

'And King James I of England regularly took baths with animal blood.

'Both these facts sound wild nowadays, but you can build a parallel to these legal red deer farms.'

 

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