Mortality in deer

Mortality in deer can occur from various causes predominantly associated directly or indirectly with man. Deliberate culling by shooting is of course the principal cause but a considerable number of deer are killed by illegal activities of poachers in various parts of the country. At present high prices for venison and low fines imposed by the Courts encourage their activities. Mechanical injuries from car accidents and fencing wire are common factors and the weather, particularly in the North of Scotland, can take a heavy toll especially of the old and the very young. Disease per se is probably of little significance in well-managed populations. An excellent host-parasite relationship seems to exist in many instances, but liver fluke and lungworm are important causes of death particularly in Roe in certain areas. Deer are, on the whole, remarkably free from clinical diseases compared with domesticated stock but with the advent of ‘deer farming’, certain infections such as Tuberculosis and Brucellosis are worthy of further study. Deaths from poisoning rarely occur although certain plants such as laurel can be toxic to Fallow deer; yew appears to be eaten with impunity. Percentage mortality in the different species is virtually impossible to ascertain at present, as the numbers of deer are not known in most areas. Moreover, dead deer are rarely found; so far the only accurate figures available have been obtained from deer parks. It would probably be true to say that the vast majority of free-living deer in Britain rarely live out their allotted span of life as judged by the age to which deer can survive in certain parks in the absence of the usual causes of mortality in the wild.