Interesting article on Deer Culling in Countryfile magazine, including these snippets:"There are thought to be some two million red, roe, fallow, sika, muntjac and Chinese water deer in Britain’s countryside and semi-urban areas, the highest level for 1,000 years.Numbers may have doubled since 1999, according to the Deer Initiative (which promotes the sustainable management of wild deer) and other sources. As farmers and conservationists become ever-more concerned at the impact that deer have on crops and wildlife, scientists now argue that an increase in culling levels is essential.""74,000: The number of road traffic accidents a year involving deer, which kill between 10-20 people, according to the RSPCA.""50%: The decline in woodland bird numbers where deer are present, according to the University of East Anglia’s Dr Paul Dolman: “Deer will eat the understorey and so the coppices, for example, lose their shrub layer. That can be a problem for nightingales and other long-distance migrants, such as willow warblers, chiffchaffs and blackcaps."More here: https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/mammals/deer-culling-in-britain-facts-and-statistics/
Richard Cathcart ● 1833d