Study urges cull of half Britain's deer population

by liamssoft | March 7, 2013 at 05:25 am

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Half of Britain's deer population needs to be culled each year in order to preserve woodlands and birdlife, according to a scientific study published Thursday.

The report in the Journal of Wildlife Management claimed that the current deer population of 1.5 million was unsustainable and causing serious damage to woodlands.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, eastern England, called for a tightly-regulated venison market to be created to deal with the cull.

Deer strip woodland of wild flowers, brambles and shrubs, and disturb the ecology to the point that native birds are lost.

"Deer populations are going through the roof," said university ecologist Paul Dolman.

"We're calling for a very large increase in the magnitude of deer culling."....Read more