Protecting deer and the countryside

It is important to manage deer to ensure a healthy and sustainable deer population in balance with the environment, to protect them from starvation due to overgrazing and from death and injury in road traffic accidents (the National Deer-Vehicle Collisions Project estimates that there are between 42,000 and 74,000 accidents involving deer across the country each year). It is equally important to prevent deer from causing unacceptable damage to crops and trees and to protect other creatures sharing their habitat from the results of overgrazing.

Although an accurate assessment is difficult, the UK deer population is thought to be up to 2m*, more than at any time since the last ice age. Six deer species live in the wild in Britain. Two, red and roe deer, are indigenous (native). Fallow deer were introduced by the Phoenicians or the Romans, while sika, muntjac and Chinese water deer were all introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and it is escapees from deer parks that now populate the British countryside. The species differ in their geographical distribution, numbers, growth rate, behaviour, and environmental impact.

Sustainable management

In the absence of a natural predator, sustainable management of deer usually means that they have to be ‘culled’. Already, an estimated 350,000* deer are culled in the UK every year. Despite this, and the high number killed in road accidents, the population continues to grow with increasing environmental and economic damage and additional pressure on the health of the existing stock.

For professional, sustainable, and ethical deer management in Warwickshire, the West Midlands, and the Cotswolds, we recommend Warwickshire Roebucks, an affiliated specialist providing tailored deer control, forestry and crop protection, and firearms safety training.