An average of 293 deer were culled each year in the borough’s royal parks in the past decade, figures revealed.

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 Spokesm

an 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.

"Over a period of years we also take into consideration the age profile of deer and birth rates in assessing the size of the cull to achieve the optimum herd numbers."

Richmond Park Deer Culls 2004 - 2014

Year    Male    Female    Total

2004    113     49              162
2005    91       139            230
2006    132     106            238
2007    125     117            242
2008    117     144            261
2009    46       115            161  
2010    93       38              131
2011    78       22              100
2012    0         78              78
2013    78       145            223
2014    94       111              205

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bushy Park Deer Culls 2004-2014
Year    Male    Female    Total
2004    60       65             125
2005    30       0               30
2006    44       45             89
2007    18       35             53
2008    55       25             80
2009    55       25             80
2010    20       45             65
2011    50       75             125
2012    6         55             61
2013    28       55             83
2014    35       75             110