And, I’m afraid to say, that to that list we must, with the greatest regret, add people who think that Richmond and Bushy Parks are petting zoos.

 Because, once again, owing to the unthinking nature of the minority we find the deer making headlines once again for all the wrong reasons. If you happened to miss the latest story the long and short of it is that a stag approached a group who were eating in Richmond Park. The stag, having seen the food and having been fed in the past, approached the group hoping to be fed once again. The group tried to deter the stag, unfortunately the stag became more insistent leading to it attacking and injuring a 60 year old man.  Because of this the stag was later shot; having displayed this behaviour there was a risk that it could happen again.

 And this horrible incident was almost certainly a direct result of the behaviour of people who think that it is perfectly acceptable to feed the deer.  You may think that this is something of a stretch, but consider the facts.  The stag approached the group seeking food. This is not natural behaviour for a stag; normally they’d forage the natural food that is available within the Royal Parks. Therefore, it stands to reason that associating humans with a readily available food source is learned behaviour on the part of the animals.

 And that is why the Royal Parks authorities, the park rangers, the volunteers and the police go to such great pains to try to actively discourage park visitors from interacting with the deer. Not because they’re miserable killjoys, not because they want to stop families from having a nice day out but because the more that people have direct contact with the deer, the more the deer’s behaviour changes and that increases the risk of tragic incidents such as this becoming more common.

 Of course, if you happen to be reading this then chances are I’m preaching to the converted because those who live local to the parks are, by and large, aware of the need to give the deer a wide berth.  Normally it’s those who are visitors to the area that are those who tend to get it wrong.

 However, if you are one of those people who think it is perfectly fine to feed the deer, please stop.  You may think it’s a harmless activity, but it isn’t. Not only are you endangering your fellow park users, but you’re also endangering the deer.

 

Courtesy of Your Local Guardian | Richmond News