A rise in deer sightings across Salford is causing concern among environmentalists.
Deer are becoming increasingly common in both urban areas like golf courses, roads and gardens and rural spots like the Kersal Wetlands and Clifton Country Park, according to Salford City Council.
Salford man Jeff Boardman saw a near head-on collision between a car and a deer in Doveleys Road, Irlams o’ th’ Height.
He said: “There was the woman in the car that had to stop. We just both looked at one another in amazement.
“It is a very built up area and very busy with traffic and people. So it was quite out of the ordinary.”
Deer have been controversial in Salford. RHS Bridgewater, Worsley, caused a culling scandal five years ago when it wanted to remove deer from the site.
The most common species seen throughout Salford is the Roe deer, which sits around 70cm in height. However larger species like the Sika can be seen too. Deer have no natural predators in the UK.
Technical advisor to the British Deer Society, Charles Smith-Jones, said: “There has been a noticeable rise in deer numbers across the country over the last few decades. Deer have been forced into many places by growing human populations, to seek out habitats that maybe they wouldn’t normally want.
“Problems start occurring when the deer numbers outgrow the habitats that are available to them both in terms of food or space.
“It’s more a question of the deer being too successful for their own good and it’s down to human beings to manage their numbers in some places.”
Smith-Jones said “I can see increased clashes between people and deer in the future if the numbers are not controlled.
“More houses, more roads, more infrastructure and more habitat taken from the deer who’ve got to find somewhere else to live.”
According to the RSPCA, the number of deer-car collisions have increased.
Research indicates that more than 74,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur every year, the majority resulting in the deer’s death
The charity is part of the ‘Deer Aware project’, and also offers advice through the ‘National Deer-Vehicle Collisions Project’.
While species like the Roe don’t carry any dangerous diseases towards humans, there are safety concerns regarding dog walkers especially throughout public parks.
Smith-Jones said: “With out of control dogs, small deer are a very bad mix and a lot are killed or seriously injured.
“We do see problems with people hand feeding deer in some places too.
“The bottom line is to respect the fact that they’re wild animals and treat them as such.”
Some experts have suggested the reintroduction of the lynx into the UK, however this topic is still highly debated.
Smith-Jones said: “We don’t see it as a viable option for deer control in Britain.
“Lynx require large areas of wilderness and we just haven’t got that here… you’d need an awful lot to balance the deer populations fully.”
He does not see current state deer populations as a massive problem, but is concerned if the rise continues.
“They’re very adaptable animals and some species in particular are learning to live alongside people,” he said.
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