"It was a joy to watch him re-join his herd” - RSPCA rescue distressed deer from electric fencing in Emsworth
A distressed deer was recued by the RSPCA after becoming tangled in an electric fence in Emsworth.
The fallow buck was spotted by a member of the public struggling to free himself from a fence on Copse Lane on Thursday, October 23, with his herd of female deer watching on. The RSPCA were called and an officer was able to free the deer who had a six-foot fence post attached to his antlers.
Marie Stevens was the RSPCA animal rescue officer who attended the scene and undertook the delicate untangling of the deer after it was sedated by a vet.
She said: “The poor buck was very distressed, he was heavily tangled up in the fence with a heavy pole attached to his antlers, which must have been putting pressure on his head. His herd of female deer was close by, watching in distress.
“I called local equine vet Natalie McGoldrick to assist with sedating the buck as he was far too distressed to be safely released without sedation. Once sedated, I was able to safely free his antlers from the netting.”
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Marie added: “Deer are particularly susceptible to stress and in many cases they do not survive long after being trapped due to stress-induced muscle breakdown. Sadly, that means it’s sometimes kinder and in the best interests of the animal’s welfare to put them to sleep to prevent a painful death hours later.”
Thankfully, due to the work of Marie and Natalie, this story had a happy ending with the deer walking away from the incident.
Marie said: “Fortunately, this buck responded well. After a few hours recovering in shrubland he came round. It was a joy to watch him re-join his herd.”
For advice on what to do if you see a deer in trouble visit: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/deer