England has six types of deer including red stags, muntjac (tiny deer that looks like fawns, even as adults) and Chinese water deer. If you use deer-resistant flowers, avoid pet-toxic flowers near animal friends.
Grazers (Yorkshire) is a nontoxic calcium-based substance that makes grass unpalatable, so humanely deters rabbits, deer and other unwelcome visitors (don’t use on edible grass for pet rabbits etc). It’s a good solution to keep the grass in top condition, without resorting to chemicals.
If you see deer on roads (mostly at dawn and dusk), dim lights to avoid startling them. Councils can help by not planting in railing gaps, as deer get stuck (and can bolt, even if badly injured). RSPCA often take ages to arrive due to being busy. For trapped or injured deer, also call the police (traffic hazard) and marksmen can often humanely shoot the deer, if in pain.
League Against Cruel Sports are the experts on who hunts for what, and why in nearly all cases, it’s done for sport and money, not for keeping numbers under control. Hunting deer is particularly cruel as deer have no sweat glands, so are exhausted with heat stroke, by the time they are killed. The charity has had sanctuaries where deer have literally flown over the border into ‘safe territory’ and been saved by volunteers. The charity has sanctuaries (free from shooting/hunting) and conducts investigations into illegal shoots and hunts.
If the League Against Cruel Sports didn’t exist, I’d have started it myself. Bill Oddie OBE (President)
Although most hunting is banned, some people still hunt illegally and others hunt deer saying it’s necessary to keep numbers down (it’s not, in Maryland USA they use contraception to great effect). To that effect, don’t eat venison. Vets also say not to give pets deer antlers as chews, as they can choke or cause painful teeth injuries.
Vets also say not to give pets deer antlers as chews, as they can choke or cause painful teeth injuries. One vet says supervise pets with safe chews, and avoid feeding rawhide, antlers or ‘anything you would not want to be whacked on the knee with yourself’.
