Dedicated to deer

Kate Chapman meets the team of committed volunteers tasked with managing Lincolnshire’s wild deer population.

A dedicated network of volunteers has been leading a joined-up, sustainable approach to managing Lincolnshire’s wild deer population and protecting the countryside they roam for almost 30 years.

Deer are a cherished part of our natural heritage. Their graceful presence is enjoyed by many – but without proper management rising deer populations can cause serious damage to our woodlands, arable crops, nature reserves and even gardens.

Lincolnshire Deer Management Group is working to ensure that doesn’t happen. Formed in 1997, following guidance from DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), the group takes a scientific, collaborative approach to population control and biodiversity protection – far removed from traditional views of deer management as simply a field sport.

The group, which comprises around 350 landowners and managers including nearly 150 volunteers, also assists other statutory bodies – assisting when wild deer are involved in incidents such as road traffic collisions.

Chairman Simon Williams says: “The main role of the Lincolnshire Deer Management Group is population management and disseminating information. There’s a growing deer population in England for many reasons, which is why the population has to be actively managed.

“Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. It’s a very complex issue, but essentially it’s about management. Deer have no natural predators, we are at the top of the food chain, so we do need to keep the numbers in balance.

“If they’re not culled the number of deer in our landscape will go up roughly by one third each year. There are issues relating to biodiversity and damage, particularly here in Lincolnshire where lots of arable crops get damaged, which then becomes a commercial issue.

“The damage can be considerable to other areas of biodiversity and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) too. Wild deer also have an impact on county road users – if a fallow deer hits a motorbike, they’re both going to come off badly.

“We’re not a vigilante group, out torturing animals, that is simply not the case at all.

“Yes, firearms are used, but everyone involved is trained and very professional, and things are done as humanely as possible.”

Lincolnshire species
The British deer population is estimated to be around two million. Wild deer have bred more freely without widespread culling during lockdown, resulting in a larger than usual expansion. Six species have been recorded in Lincolnshire – red, roe, fallow, muntjac, sika and Chinese water deer – with fallow, roe and muntjac being the most prevalent.

The special character of Lincolnshire’s ancient woodlands is particularly vulnerable to wild deer pressures and excessive browsing. This activity prevents the natural regeneration of trees and threatens the long-term survival of the woodland, and loss of important woodland flora.

In recognition that wild deer are one of the key threats to woodland biodiversity, and because there is an active deer group in the county, Forestry Commission grants were made available to help towards the cost of Lincolnshire’s deer management.

Lincolnshire Deer Management Group is one of many similar groups operating throughout England, Wales and Scotland. It was formed after Forestry Commission ranger Malcolm Armstrong began seeing more wild deer in Bardney Lime Woods and has gone on to become one of the biggest and most established groups of its kind.

Its volunteer members include landowners, private estates, farmers and other organisations including Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and National Trust.

These members also work to bring the resulting sustainably managed wild venison into the food chain, overseeing how it is handled and marketed.

“We take deer management very seriously, it’s a reality of country life. For landowners it becomes a business issue too. It’s necessary and is carried out by a group of people who are well trained,” adds Mr Williams.

“The female population determines the growth of the overall population. Roe deer naturally have twins every year, fallow deer will have a fawn every year, while muntjac, an invasive species, breeds all year round.

“Muntjac are very prolific and give birth every nine months. If culling didn’t take place, the county would be overrun, especially across south Lincolnshire. There’s already a significant population of fallow deer in the south-west of the county.”

Think Deer!
During the 1970s it was thought there were around 500 fallow deer in the Grimsthorpe area. The number in south-west Lincolnshire alone is now closer to 6,000.

“If a proportion of the population weren’t culled each year, the county would be overrun,” adds Mr Williams. “I have recently held discussions with Lincolnshire Police and Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns, as in some areas there are enormous herds of deer causing a lot of damage and also a lot of Deer Vehicle Collisions (DVCs) involving wild deer.

It’s a huge problem and there are several hotspots on the county’s roads, now often marked by our ‘Think Deer’ reflective signs to warn and advise motorists.

“Lincolnshire Deer Management Group has funded the reflective signs to help raise awareness and ask people to slow down in these hotspots, and anecdotally I think it’s working.”

It’s estimated that the toll of deer involved in road accidents across the UK lies between 42,000 and 74,000 annually. Such deer-related RTAs result in several hundred human injuries and sadly some human fatalities each year.

Lincolnshire Deer Management Group is working to raise the profile of this problem in the county because as the population of deer rises, so will the incidence of traffic collisions. It provides 24/7 assistance to the police and RSPCA, through a strong network of approved and trained members, who provide a speedy and humane response countywide.

The Forestry Commission is also involved with a national project on this issue called Deer Aware, trying to build an overview on the incidence of deer collisions across the whole country. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of preventative measures like signs and fences and assist with mitigation.

To learn more visit the website www.lincolnshiredeergroup.co.uk

Road safety advice is also available online at www.deeraware.com

Photographs: Supplied by the British Deer Society

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