![\""Deer\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/10\/Red-deer-in-autumn-b91150d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C410"\" "\\"\"Red\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How many deer are there in the UK?<\/h2>\n
There are thought to be some\u00a0two million red, roe, fallow, sika, muntjac and Chinese water deer in Britain\u2019s countryside and semi-urban areas, the highest level for 1,000 years.<\/p>\n
Numbers may have doubled since 1999, according to the Deer Initiative<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n More related content:<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Red and roe deer are native to the UK, while Normans brought fallow with them to hunt. These have been supplemented by escapees from introduced populations of Chinese water deer, muntjac and sika.\u00a0There are other reasons for population increase, including:<\/p>\n The 1963 Deer Act<\/a> in England and Wales and in 1959 in Scotland prevented deer from being treated like vermin and controlled who could shoot them and how; gunshot (shotguns)\u00a0was outlawed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the UK was natural, we would have lynx, bear and wolves, natural predators of deer,\u201d says Dr Paul Dolman, \u201cas well as humans. [Historically], deer wouldn\u2019t have stood a chance in the countryside because people were hungry. Now people aren\u2019t\u00a0living off the land so deer are much more likely to survive.\u201d\u00a0According the RSPCA, an estimated\u00a0350,000 deer are culled each year.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is in the deer\u2019s favour,\u201d says Peter Watson of the Deer Initiative. \u201cForest cover has increased and farmers grow crops all year round.\u201d<\/p>\n A University of East Anglia<\/a> study has suggested localised, targeted culls \u2013 rather than a widespread cull \u2013 of up to 53 percent of muntjac and 60 percent of roe deer might be necessary. \u201cWe need a strategic objective. All the focus seems to be on areas where deer are out of control, but that leaves deer free to cause problems in other areas in the future,\u201d says Dr Paul Dolman.<\/p>\n The Deer Initiative also accepts that culling may be necessary. Chief executive Peter Watson says: \u201cAs long as numbers continue to increase, we have to accept there are going to be more of these hotspots. There\u2019s a wider question of just how many deer we can live with.\u201d<\/p>\n The National Gamekeeper\u2019s Organisation (NGO)<\/a> agrees on the need to cull more deer in certain areas. \u201c The way to cull deer is on a regional and local basis, with gamekeepers and recreational stalkers liaising with one another,\u201d says Charles Nodder of the NGO.<\/p>\n![\""Red\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/10\/Red-deer-in-Scotland-44e08d6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Red\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-841171250-4925fd2.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"A\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section><\/div>\nWhat is the problem with deer?<\/h2>\n
Why are there so many deer in the UK?<\/h2>\n
Protection<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
Lack of predators<\/h3>\n
Good habitat<\/h3>\n
![\""Deer\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/Deer-27bed94.jpg?quality=90&resize=618%2C413"\" "\\"\"Fallow\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Does Britain need an intensive universal cull of deer?<\/h2>\n
![\""Roe\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2017\/09\/roe-deer-in-wheat-field-7c3423d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Roe\\"\/")
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Deer\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-464527711-40d05c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Chinese\\"")
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