Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 22 January 2003.
Ian Liddell-Grainger
Conservative, Bridgwater
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who is responsible for calculating the deer figures in the UK; and what they were at the most recent date.
Elliot Morley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
No statutory body routinely collects information on overall wild deer numbers in England and Wales, or in Northern Ireland. The Deer Commission for Scotland conducts wild deer censuses in different areas every year and has estimated that wild deer in Scotland might currently number 600,000, although no completely reliable figure is available.
Stephen Harris et al. (1995) estimated the following pre-breeding population sizes for deer in Great Britain.
| England | Scotland | Wales | Total GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red deer | 12,500 | 347,000 | <50 | 360,000 |
| Fallow deer | 95,000 | <4,000 | <1,000 | 100,000 |
| Roe deer | 150,000 | 350,000 | 50 | 500,000 |
| Sika deer | 2,500 | 9,000 | 0 | 11,500 |
| Muntjac deer | 40,000 | <50 | <250 | 40,000 |
| Chinese water deer | 650 | 0 | 0 | 650 |
Source:
From: Harris, S., Morris P., Wray S. and Yalden D. 1995. "A Review of British Mammals: population estimates and conservation status of British mammals other than cetaceans". JNCC, Peterborough.
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