LONDON: An average of 293 deer were culled every year in the Borough’s Royal Parks in the past era, figures exposed.
Richmond Park saw an average of 203.1 deer culled each year from 2004-14, while Bushy Park had an average of 90.1 culled in the same period.
A Royal Parks spokesman said regular, controlled culling was necessary because the parks only had enough grazing to sustain a finite number of healthy animals.
He said: “If the cull did not take place then deer would suffer as a result of overcrowding and malnutrition, leading to starvation and death.”
The numbers of male and female deer culled each year varied, with an average of 136.8 male deer culled each year, and 156.4 females in the past 10 years. In 2009, 46 male deer were culled in Richmond Park while 115 females were destroyed.
A Royal Parks Spokes man explained the balance between sex and number of the deer varied every year.
He said: “Weather and food supply can affect the herds, especially the young and each year a number of deer are lost through natural mortality.
