RSPCA Issues Guidance After Deer Taken from Isleworth
Family brought it back to its home in Suffolk
Young deer that appear to be abandoned may not be. Picture: RSPCA
June 1, 2023
The RSPCA has issue guidance after a young deer was taken from the Isleworth area and brought by a family to its home in Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk.
The family spotted the deer on 16 May and believed that it needed assistance.
However, RSPCA inspector Philip Norman, who was called to the home by the family two days later, says that, although he accepts they had good intentions, the deer is now likely to be rejected by its mother because she now smells of the family’s home.
He says that rather than taking it nearly one hundred miles away from its existing habitat, concerns about the animal’s condition should have been reported to a qualified agency.
The female roe deer is now being cared for at a specialist wildlife centre and, once she is old enough to fend for herself, will be returned to its original home in the Isleworth area.
The RSPCA says it is normal for young deer to be left to fend for themselves during springtime to develop survival skills with their parents observing nearby. However, if humans approach they are unlikely to make their presence known so that it may seem as if the young deer has been abandoned.
Mr Norman said, "It's normal for young deer to be seen on their own in the wild but their mum will return to feed them. So unless they look obviously sick or injured, they should be left alone."
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