New Forest: Concerns over photographer deer disturbance

Photographers are endangering deer in the New Forest, conservationists have warned.

The Wild New Forest conservation group said photographers were disturbing deer while trying to capture the "perfect" image during the mating season

It said an influx of visitors was causing "disturbance to wildlife".

Forestry England said many visitors were getting "unacceptably close" to the animals to take photos, and affecting their behaviour.

A spokeswoman said staff were reporting that more visitors were "valuing the photo over the interest of the deer".

"People are getting unacceptably close to the deer during the rutting season and are disturbing them.

"This has dramatically affected deer behaviour with the wild herd not able to move freely and in some cases they have been pushed towards nearby roads," she added.

The five species of deer within the forest - fallow, red, sika, roe and muntjac - each behave slightly differently during breeding periods.

The red deer mating season - known as the rut - starts in mid-September and lasts until early November.

Wild New Forest said it had banned pictures of red deer on its social media channels to discourage people from photographing them.

Director Russell Wynn said: "The unusual circumstances associated with ongoing Covid-19 restrictions mean the New Forest continues to attract unprecedented visitor numbers for the time of year, leading to a continuation of issues such as verge parking, littering, and disturbance to wildlife.

"In recent days I've unfortunately witnessed photographers and dog-walkers ignoring the signs and entering areas where red deer are resting, causing unnecessary disturbance and stress to the animals.

"The autumn rut is an exhausting and crucially important time for the red deer, and it is therefore vital that they are left undisturbed and that people only view from main tracks," he added.