DEER ME

Most people would agree that deer are beautiful animals, but that does not mean that everybody welcomes them into their gardens. In this area there is nothing new about capreolus capreolus (roe deer) following in the footsteps of foxes and existing in suburban gardens. Numbers have increased since there are no natural predators. To my mind this makes the attitude of Poole Borough Council's Leisure Services, difficult to understand. Any suggestion that the deer should be culled is met with absolute horror and revulsion. I don't claim to be an expert on wildlife, but I always thought that animals without predators needed to be culled to maintain healthy breeding stock. Rumour has it that deer in the New Forest are routinely culled, and I suppose that those I see in my garden are refugees.

Leisure Services endorse the findings of the Royal Horticultural Society and advise that fencing is the only way of excluding deer from a garden. They acknowledge that this is likely to be expensive and as I pointed out, impractical in areas that have been planned with open front gardens. Entomology Advisory Leaflet, number 44 published in January 1999 by the RHS, gives advice on the types of suitable fences together with minimum dimensions and the need for deer-proof gates.

So what can we do? Supplies of lion dung appear to be severely limited in this part of Dorset. Is there any proof that it is effective? If we all followed the England football team captain's changes in hair styles, perhaps we could hang up enough bags of human hair to confuse the little darlings. Once again the RHS' leaflet is a useful source of information on repellents. No magic solution here either. Alternatively you can abandon the idea of growing what you like and try to cultivate those plants that appear less attractive to a gourmet deer. This isn't guaranteed either. All young shoots seem to attract them, but you could refer to the RHS's list of "Plants relatively resistant to deer".

Any member of the Association who would like a copy of this leaflet, to which I have frequently referred, can obtain a copy from Leisure Services, Borough of Poole, Northmead House, 30 Northmead Drive, Creekmoor, Poole, Dorset BH17 7RP. I expect a stamped and addressed envelope would be appreciated.

Perhaps the attitude of Leisure Services towards the deer problem is to do with their natural wish to comply with various Acts of Parliament to do with Countryside Law. The A-Z of Countryside Law refers to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Deer Act of 1991. This is not the place and I am not qualified to interpret these laws. I will content myself with quoting from the A-Z. "Deer are a particularly valuable quarry and, at the same time, a potentially expensive pest capable of inflicting great damage to crops, woodland and pasture, and current legislation reflects both these perspectives while attempting to achieve a balance between protection and control".

Archive Summer 2002 | next

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