We help you maintain as large and as healthy a wild deer population as your land can support while keeping deer impact to an acceptable level.
Deer Control works a free service with farmers, estates and private landowners to manage their deer populations across Sussex, Kent and Surrey to the landowners’ bespoke requirements.
Deer in Britain have no natural predators. The six species of wild deer have steadily increased in population since the Middle Ages. Deer in the South East have now reached epidemic proportions and have a major impact on trees, plants and crops. Often the only vegetation left in woodlands is the few plants that deer don't eat. Killings new tree growth especially in plantations. This has an impact on insect, bird, and small mammal habitat. The deer strip bark, thrash small trees and can eat all re-growth of coppiced woodland often killing the stumps.
The area of woodland with Site of Special Scientific Interest status (SSSI) of 8000 hectares that is currently “unfavourable or recovering condition due to the impacts of deer. This is likely to represent a fraction of the real picture according to the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST). “Deer can affect the age diversity of a woodland, resulting in a fall in numbers of species and strip bark of older trees, which kills them. The population is currently estimated at more than 2 million, and with the population rising, there is an increasing impact on agriculture and forestry. The UK’s deer populations is believed to be at its highest level for 1000 years. These factors coupled with health risks to both livestock and humans makes sustainable management essential.
In addition the number of deer vehicle collisions has reached record levels of 74,000 last year which kill between 10-20 people. Damage to fencing and crops is a regular occurrence. An adult deer eats around 5kg of greenstuffs each day. This equates to a very small herd of only twelve deer consuming 60kg a day or around 22 tons of grazing per year! This could be valuable crops, grass for grazing farm animals and even garden plants. The cost of deer damage through eating and trampling crops with the greatest damage on cereal crops in which 2023 was an estimated cost of 4.3million.
Each female will have one fawn every year for ten to twelve years and hence population is increasing at around thirty percent each year. Deer are ruminants and their lifespan is governed by their ability to eat. Their teeth wear down and they die as a result of starvation or accident. Fallow deer in the South East weigh two thirds of their ideal weight due to the overpopulation. The cost of the damage caused by deer to plantations and other commercial woodlands according to experts of the Deer Initiative is over £4.5million per a year.
Deer management can help with all these issues. Removing older and injured animals helps keeps the population at a level where they impact less on the environment and the economy. Large populations of deer are likely to contributing to the abundance of ticks, parasitic insects that can carry diseases such as Lyme and TBE (tick-born encephalitis) that are a threat to public health. Deer may also carry parasites or diseases such as foot and mouth, Tuberculosis (TB) and blue tongue which are a threat to livestock.
Deercontrol.co.uk provides a free professional, friendly, discrete and efficient deer control service. Our deer management - carried out by certified and insured deer managers - includes impact and numbers surveys, risk assessments and culling.
With a total of over 45 years of experience, the team at Deercontrol are fully insured and qualified deer managers offering an expert deer management service. Deercontrol operate to the highest moral and ethical standards and have the utmost respect and affinity for the countryside and most importantly the deer themselves
Keeping a manageable deer population is essential to ensure the protection of land, and to keep the herds at a sustainable size.
Deer Management protects farmland and woodland. All deer harvested are handled with the greatest amount of care and respect and introduced into the food chain.
Safety is a top priority and all authorised deer managers are trained and experienced to ensure the safety of any workers of the land and public. No projectile travels out of our line of sight. We do a full risk assessment and check all boundaries. We place high seats in positions where it isn’t safe to stalk on foot. All Deercontrol team are insured to £10,000,000 and have completed an annual shooting accuracy and safety test.
This service is free, we do not charge.
Animals die before they register pain. Undernourished, failing and injured animals are prioritised for culling. We preserve the healthiest.
Working as a group we coordinate our culls to maximise numbers taken. We rapidly respond to provide assistance. Many times more effectively than an individual stalker or a government body.
We use moderated rifles. We operate from a few minutes before dawn to a few minutes after dusk. But no shots are taking during the night. A management plan is agreed with landowners as are times of our visits. We keep them fully informed of our results. Landowners appreciate the security of knowing when we are on site and having some extra protection against rural crime.
We are able to assist with other wildlife e.g. foxes, pigeons, rabbits, rats and squirrels, as well as other woodland management issues.
We cover the following areas in the South of England:
There are six species of deer living wild in the UK
All client details are confidential and the services we offer are discreet and highly professional. If you are interested in seeing what Deercontrol can do for you, fill in the contact form or email us on info@deercontrol.co.uk.