A FARM has had to cancel a popular reindeer experience this Christmas due to the ongoing bluetongue outbreak.

Farrington's Farm in Bristol, Somerset, made the announcement on social media earlier this week that it was cancelling the Miracle on Main Street event this Christmas.

This is due to the ongoing bluetongue outbreak, which is preventing the reindeer travelling to the farm. 

Miracle on Main Street gave guests a chance to meet Santa Claus and his reindeer, while also learning facts about the animal. 

A spokesperson for Farrington's Farm said: "After hosting our first real reindeer experience last December (which was a huge success), the plan was to do the same again this December. As we do not keep reindeer ourselves, we found a farm who bring them to us along with specialist reindeer handlers to ensure they are looked after correctly. Having had such a positive experience with them last year, we rebooked this year."

The reindeer farm contacted Farrington's last week to give a heads up about the restrictions about livestock movements from Kent, where the reindeers are. 

"While they were hopeful the restrictions would be lifted or reduced, there was obviously a risk that they would not be able to attend our event if this didn’t happen, which put us (and them!) in a precarious position," the spokesperson added.

"We decided to delay the release of tickets for our event and keep an eye on the situation. I did briefly look at alternative suppliers outside of the restricted areas, but no luck finding anyone with a similar offering and suitable availability.

"After the restricted zone was extended on Saturday, September 21 to include neighbouring counties, we made the decision to cancel our event. If we decided to launch tickets and plan the event as usual, and the restrictions were not lifted in time, we would have to disappoint many families who had chosen our event over many others – it’s a risk we weren’t willing to take."

The event is set to return in 2025. 

Farrington's Farm also run other events throughout the year including: pick your own tulips in April/May; Kids Fest in July; pick your own sunflowers in August/September and pick your own pumpkins in October.