Deer Species of the British Isles

I was inspired to write this lens having seen a group of deer browsing on young trees alongside the busy A27 road between Havant and Chichester near where I live. I was past them too fast to get a good look and determine what kind they were so looked it up when I got in and found there was nothing on Squidoo about the subject.

Deer are a common sight around Hampshire. In the west of the county, large numbers of deer live in the New Forest National Park area. I have seen deer grazing in a field on Hayling Island at the back of a friend's house and have often come across them crossing local roads at night and many roads have deer warning signs. Having looked at all the photos, I think what I saw were fallow deer, but could have been roe.

The BBC TV programme Autumnwatch has featured lots of items about deer, showing rutting stags in different parts of the country. Stags of all species can pose a danger in the autumn in the UK when they are looking for hinds (female deer) and mating, so take care when walking in the countryside.

BBC TV Autmnwatch website

This is a native British species and the largest one. They are found all over the British Isles, but are expecially numerous in Scotland and West Country moorland.

The same species is known as elk elsewhere in Europe, Asia and USA/Canada.

Photo source - Scottish photo http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mehmet_Karatay

More info British Deer Society

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cervus_elaphus.html

Native British species also found across most of Europe and parts of Asia Minor. In the summer, they are a reddish brown without the spots that some other deer species have and the antlers are small. They have a well defined white patch at the tail, but this is slightly less obvious in winter when the coat becomes darker and greyer. The nose is black and most have a white or lighter patch on the chin.

They like to live in lightly wooded areas where there is some shelter especially for newborn fawns in the breeding season which is usually April-July in the UK.

They were over-hunted to the point of extinction but since Victorian times, re-introductions from Europe have enabled them to become widespread once more.

Their eating habits are not popular with farmers and foresters as they eat the bark from young trees, so their populations are managed in many places.

More info here British Deer Society

Not originally a native species and most probably introduced in Norman times. They are now very common and, in the most common form most easily recognizable by their summer spotted coat. There are some variations giving an almost black coat or a white to pale sandy coat without spots. The other variation keeps its spots all year round but is limited to a small range in the county of Shropshire.

Other ways to recognise them is that they have 'palmate' antlers - with flattened areas, and are the only British species like this. They also have a distinctive dark horseshoe mark around the rump.

They favour open grassland or mature deciduous forest with some undergrowth.

More info here British Deer Society

This species was introduced from Asia and has become very widespread, almost a pest in fact. They are our smallest deer species, about the size of a large dog.

There are several sub-species but the most common in the UK is the one quoted above, Reeves Muntjac

They have a typical 'hunched' appearance with the haunches slightly higher than the shoulders. The coat is gingery in summer, greyer and longer in winter. The males have a visible upper tusk.

More info here British Deer Society

Another introduced species - this time from Japan. Most common in Scotland, smaller populations in other parts of the UK, and some in Ireland.

Size is in between red and roe deer, coat is reddish or yellow-brown with a distinct dorsal line in the summer, when there may also be few lighter spots alongside the stripe.

More info - British Deer Society

This introduced species has a very limited range, mostly in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

The population come from some escapees from Whipsnade Zoo.

They favour wetland habitats and are recognizable by their short protruding tusks. They are small, size is intermediate between roe and Muntjac deer.

In the wild in China, they are now officially a threatened species, with the British population thought to compose up to 10% of the total world count.

More information - British Deer Society

Because our ancient culture was so brutally destroyed and put down when Christianity came to the British Isles, it is difficult to be factual, but some old stories suggest that a new king or tribal ruler would be put into the forest alone wearing antlers and would have to hunt and bring down a stag using whatever weapons he could make for himself as a coming of age ritual Certainly we know from remains found in ancient graves, that our ancestors ate deer and wore the skins. Cave paintings in other parts of Europe show men wearing deer antlers.

Evidence can be found as far back as the Lower Paleolithic (up to 250,000 years ago) that deer were used for food, and their bone and antlers used for tools, and in every ancient historical period from then on. source - Wikipedia - Ancient Britain

Essentially deer belong to the owner of the land on which they commonly feed and breed. This includes, in the UK, National Parks like the New Forest which belong to the Crown. Where and when you can shoot them for food or cull for controlling population depends on their location.

If you accidentally hit a deer on a public road you cannot take it for food (Deer Act 1991/Amendments 2007). However, a collision with a deer, even little ones like Muntjac could be very detrimental to your car and yourself. It is estimated that over 60,000 deer die annually on British roads and 10 people per year die as a result of vehicle collisions with deer or trying to avoid them. If you are unlucky enough to hit a deer, you should tell the police where and when it happened and they will try to ensure that the animal is not laying injured and suffering, and discover whose land it is, or was on.

It is popularly believed that as long as you weren't the one who hit and killed it, you can take any road-killed animal for food in the UK, but this isn't true of deer and you certainly can't sell it.

Strict rules also govern culling to prevent damage to agriculture and what steps you can take to deter deer from entering your garden.

This is a useful document to download - http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/wlmsfaqs_tcm6-3859.pdf

Deer meat is called venison, and can be delicious. Unless you have an absolutely prime cut and it has been well hung, it can be tough. I prefer it as a casserole or pie filling. The texture is similar to beef but the flavour is stronger.

Venison is available in season from butchers, especially in UK country areas and in some large supermarkets.

Here is a recipe - this was handwritten and folded into a cookbook I inherited from my Mum, probably it came from one of my aunts. My Dad and all my uncles went shooting and one uncle was a gamekeeper on an estate near Newbury in Berkshire, so game was often on the table in season at home

Venison Casserole

2lb venison, shoulder or other cheaper cuts
2 large onions
2 sticks celery
2 large carrots
4 rashers fat bacon
Chopped thyme
Handful juniper berries (optional)
Half bottle of good red wine
¼ lb mushrooms
1 clove garlic (optional)
Bayleaves
2 dessert spoons redcurrant jelly
salt and pepper to season
a little plain flour

Chop the fat bacon and set to fry in a large heavy pan with a lid. Finely chop the garlic (if used), onion, celery and carrot and add to the pan with a little extra beef dripping if necessary (this is an old recipe, I would use olive oil rather than dripping if there isn't sufficient fat from the bacon).

Meanwhile cut the venison into large chunks (1 ½ - 2 inch cubes) and roll in well-seasoned flour.

When the vegetables are softening but not coloured, remove to a plate leaving any fat in the pan. Fry the venison pieces to lightly brown on all sides. Do this in batches so that the pieces sear well and do not lower the temperature of the pan. Remove to a plate and de-glaze the pan with the red wine scraping up and mixing any residue stuck to the pan. Bring to a simmer and replace the meat and fried vegetables. Add bayleaves, thyme, more seasoning and juniper berries. Put on lid and seal with a water-and-flour paste strip. (You could put a layer of baking parchment directly over the meat and veg or put a piece of foil under the lid). Put in a low oven* for 3 hours. Remove and rest 15 mins without removing lid.

Clean and quarter mushrooms (unless very small button mushrooms) and add to pan with the redcurrant jelly. Replace lid and put back in oven for 15 mins.

Eat with mashed potato, buttered carrots, and a green vegetable or leave to cool overnight and use as a pie or pudding filling with puff, shortcrust or suet pastry.