WATCH: Rescuers disentangle deer Maresfield

This morning rescuers responded to a Fallow buck with orange rope tangled around it’s antlers at Maresfield Recreation Ground. The team successfully secured and freed the deer promptly.

Within just 4 minutes and 10 seconds, the skilled team approached, secured, untangled, and released the deer back into the wild.

Fallow deer are currently growing their antlers so entanglements in rope, electric fencing, and various netting will start to become more common over the 6 months.

Anyone finding an entangled deer should not cut it free but keep quiet and out of the deer’s line of sight where possible, even if this is standing behind a tree or bush. Although it is very temping to just cut the rope from a distance and let the deer run off, this often results in them becoming re-entangled somewhere else and they may not be so lucky in being found. I’ve come across several whilst out walking in East Sussex where they have had rope round their antlers and then become caught on a barbed wire fence and died because they haven’t been found in time.

Deer will calm down and struggle less if people keep out of their deer’s line of sight and the deer can’t hear people talking or dogs barking. We are often asked why we don’t sedate deer in these situations. All wildlife suffers from Capture Myopathy which causes permanent damaged internally due to chemical changes in the body when put up unnatural stress.  Some animals cope better in these circumstances than other, but deer are some of the worst and have been known to die, whilst entangled, during rescue or even after release due to the level of stress on their bodies. Using chemical restraints like sedatives unfortunately can make matters worse for the deer.    Our team of rescuers are trained to deal with these rescues quickly and efficiently.  This rescue at Maresfield, from the point at which we started our approach to capture the deer, to the point in which we released the deer was 4 minutes and 9 seconds.  Our rescuers have to work closely as a team in order to free the deer as quickly as possible.

We would urge people with netting, football goals, rope or electric fencing to consider removing anything which is not needed or currently in use to help prevent these type of incidents from occurring.

Supporting WRAS’s summer staff appeal will help ensure the charity can continue providing vital services during this season.