Campaigners call for halt to deer cull amid safety fears

Campaigners are calling for a planned cull of muntjac deer at Holwell Nature Reserve in the Midlands to be called off. 

The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, which administers the reserve, said that the culling was necessary to protect wildlife habitats and the 13,000 trees that have recently been planted there. 

However, Holwell residents are concerned that locals will be endangered during the shooting process. They say that other methods, such as fencing, should be used to control the number and distribution of muntjac on the reserve. 

A spokesman for the trust said: “Any management of deer numbers would only take place on parts of the nature reserve where there is no public access.” 

Charles Smith-Jones, technical adviser to the British Deer Society, told ST: “Although members of the public may sometimes be unnecessarily concerned about culling activity, effective communication is always a great help in putting fears to rest. At the very least, they should be reassured that a responsible deerstalker would never discharge a rifle wherever there is any risk of public presence and will always ensure that there is a safe backstop for the bullet at all times.”