This female Roe deer was trapped behind a fence on a wooded ledge, about 15ft wide, at the top of a 40ft sandstone ridge at Sandy Ridge Uckfield. “We are not sure how the deer got into the area but according to local residents it was stuck there for three days and this morning we were called and asked to rescue the deer.” explained East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) founder Trevor Weeks.
Three rescuers Trevor Weeks, Kathy Martyn and Chris Riddington attended on site and used ladders to climb over the fence to gain access to the ledge and set up a “walk-to-wards” net across one end of the ledge in an attempt to catch the deer.
“I hide behind a trees stump whilst Trevor and Chris encourage the deer towards me. I waited there hidden so the deer wouldn’t see me. It wasn’t long before I could hear the deer crashing through the vegetation and it the suddenly ran straight into the net. I sprang into action and called for back up from Chris and Trevor who quickly joined me in gaining full control over the deer.”
The deer took quite a lot of controlling but once wrapped in a blanket and it head covered the deer was strapped to a stretcher and lifted over the fence and quickly into WRAS’s waiting Ambulance.
“The rescue operation was a dangerous one and although we ensured we stayed far enough from the edge of the 40ft drop we were worried the deer could be frightened and jump potentially to its death. Our approach had to be very careful and move into position quickly to encourage the deer in the right direction and into the net. These rescues are very stressful to both rescuers and deer and have to be undertaken as quickly as possible to avoid the deer having a heart attack” said Trevor.
Rescuers spent over 40 minutes planning the rescue which ended up taking just 14 minutes from capture to release.
The deer was drive just 2 minutes away to a field where the deer was released and rescuers were delighted to see the deer spring off and stop and say thank you afterwards.
-END-
