Animal rights campaigners have slammed deer culls in South London for shooting dead up to 80 deer leading to "horrifyingly painful deaths".

It comes as the annual deer cull in Bushy Park started on Wednesday (September 1) and will last for six weeks – killing between 60 and 80 deer.

The Royal Parks say that without population control the animals "would ultimately suffer". But animal campaigners PETA said there are more humane methods of culling the animal.

Elisa Allen, PETA UK's director told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Deer are known to control their own numbers, even reabsorbing a foetus if food supplies are low.

"Killing them off only causes their population to rebound as lethal initiatives result in a spike in the food supply, accelerating the breeding of survivors."

She also believes if killing reduced animal populations, lethal methods wouldn't be proposed year after year.

She said: "These methods are not only ineffective but also cruel, as it can be difficult for hunters to get a clear shot and deer often endure slow, horrifyingly painful deaths.

Her suggestion to reduce deer number would be to target the food sources of deer by trimming back low-hanging tree branches, keeping grass cut short and covering saplings.

She added: "Humans owe it to these gentle animals, whose habitat has been taken from them, to use one of the humane, sustainable methods of population control that exist – because we will never achieve ecological harmony through the barrel of a gun."

Injured deer are culled first, then the rest are selected across the herd to retain the correct sex ratio and age structure. There are around 320 deer in Bushy Park, say The Royal Parks.

In response to PETA, The Royal Parks said: "If PETA's statement is for deer in the wild, not in an enclosed park such as Bushy Park, which is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest with legally protected acid grassland and home to thousands of species.

"It's easy to think of Richmond and Bushy Parks as open countryside and therefore expect deer populations to 'find their own level' as they do in the wild. However, the parks are enclosed spaces with only enough grazing to sustain a finite number of healthy animals.

"The standard and humaneness of the culling in The Royal Parks is scrutinized and approved each year by the nominated veterinary surgeon caring for the health and welfare of the deer. The personnel involved in culling the deer are very experienced and highly skilled marksmen."

The Royal Parks said it takes deer welfare very seriously and all aspects of their welfare are monitored regularly.

It added: "Without population control, food would become scarce and more animals would ultimately suffer.

"There would also be other welfare issues such as low body fat, malnutrition, high incidence of death from exposure to cold in winter and a build-up of parasites and diseases in deer."

There will be a second cull for another six weeks from November 1. Any money that is raised from the sale of venison is directly reinvested into caring for the herds.

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