Did you know that there are now more deer in the UK than at any time since the ice age?

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have just published the results of a unique survey in Journal of Wildlife Management.   It suggests that, in the absence of natural predators, current management efforts are not enough to stop the population of deer spreading out of control.

It may be enjoyable to see a herd of deer racing across nearby fields when you are driving along a road, but the growth in their numbers causes a serious threat to biodiversity, as well as road traffic accidents and crop damage.

The researchers found that while deer management appeared to control numbers at a stable level, this was only because thousands of deer are ‘pushed out’ to the surrounding countryside each year, helping drive the further spread of deer.  Significantly larger culls will be needed.

Lead researcher Dr Paul Dolman, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences (one of the longest established,largest and most fully developed of its kind in Europe) says deer management is often based on guesswork. This is the first time that a population has been quantified and studied in terms of how the deer are breeding – to measure the effectiveness of deer management.

.So expect to see more venison at the butchers…….