CALLS have been made to cull wild deer living in a Leigh woodland due to the damage they have caused.

Stephen Aylen, who represents the Belfairs ward on Southend Council, wants a cull of muntjac deer at Belfairs Woods following widespread damage to tree bark in the nature reserve.

Muntjac originate from China, being introduced to England in 1900, and are considered an invasive species by many conservationists due to their prolific mating and destructive effect on other wildlife.

They have been in Belfairs woods since the Eighties.

Mr Aylen said: “There’s a problem down at Belfairs because all the bark is missing from the trees and we think it’s deer damage.

“I’ve asked for an emergency meeting of the council’s biodiversity working party to discuss this because, if there are deer there, we need to kill them.

“They have no predators, which is the problem, and although they’ve been in the park a while they seem to be multiplying.”

Belfairs wildlife ranger Ashley Pinnock said the deer often strayed into neighbouring gardens, but he does not believe they pose a significant threat to the reserve’s biodiversity.

He said: “They’re quite small, about the size of a Labrador, so a lot of people don’t realise they’re there.

“Typically one male will hold territory supporting several females, which can breed every seven or eight months, and we suspect in Belfairs we’ve got one male supporting at least three or four females.

“We conduct a survey every year on the impact on our coppicing because, if we get large numbers, they can be detrimental to regrowth, but we have no major problems currently.”

He added muntjac often strip willow and aspen trees of bark for food in winter and to sharpen their antlers and tusks, and squirrels also posed a problem with stripping bark, but said the Essex Wildlife Trust doesn’t advocate culling at present.

However, Mark Burrage, who runs Burrage and Associates deer management, said Norfolk Wildlife Trust had performed a U-turn on its culling policy in the past and said muntjac should be considered vermin for their destructive effect on UK wildlife.

He said: “I’m very surprised to hear there are muntjac in a wildlife reserve because the damage they do to habitats in the UK is well documented.

“If you want a habitat for fritillary butterflies, bluebells and nightjars, then you don’t want muntjac.

“The reproductive capability of these deer is enormous – a female can breed from the age of seven months and, after giving birth, can mate again within 48 hours.

“Any female you see is either heavily pregnant, has just given birth, or has recently conceived – meaning there is the possibility of numbers doubling or tripling every year.”

Biodiversity working party chairman Graham Longley said he had asked council officers to look into the matter.

Echo: Echo:

DUKE INTRODUCED ANIMALS TO U.K. IN 1900

MUNTJAC deer were introduced to Britain by the Duke of Bedford in 1900 and have spread as far as the Scottish borders since their escape.

The duke brought the species onto his Woburn Abbey estate in Bedfordshire as a curiosity, according to wildlife writer Robin Page, and their prolific breeding habits meant they very quickly spread across the country.

Numbers have grown to such a proportion the deer has been placed on lists of non-native invasive species by the UK and Scottish governments.

In March, the Lynx Trust proposed introducing lynxes into the UK to naturally manage deer numbers owing to their lack of predators, though introducing the wild cats is unlikely to be an option at Belfairs.

According to Mark Burrage of Burrage and Associates deer management, however, muntjac can provide a tasty meal for humans, too.

He said: “Muntjac are excellent to eat. The best place for them is your freezer.

“Muntjac sausages are particularly good and, if you look at the taste guide on wildvenison.co.uk, muntjac is considered one of the sweetest and most flavoursome of the venisons.”