The Isle of Wight Deer Survey
Wild deer are part of the Isle of Wight’s rich natural heritage, historically they are important as our special woodlands evolved in their presence. Areas such as Parkhurst and Borthwood were preserved for hunting by the nobility, without which these woods may have been cleared for agriculture. Isle of Wight Deer Conservation wishes to extend their knowledge of deer in the wild on the island in the modern era, so that we may record this for the benefit of present day and future generations of islanders.
If you have seen some wild deer on the island it would greatly assist us if you could take our short deer survey, don’t worry if you don’t know all the details, all too often all that will have been seen is a fleeting glimpse of a startled deer, viewed by an equally surprised observer!
Take the Isle of Wight Deer Survey here:- Isle of Wight Deer Survey
If you support the aims and principles of Isle of Wight Deer Conservation and would enjoy periodic updates about wild deer on the island please email us at firstname.lastname@example.org and leave your name and contact details.
Thank you for your support
Isle of Wight Deer Conservation Aims and Principles
Deer have been re-emerging in the wild on the island since the 1970’s with evidence of both of the native species, Red and Roe, being reported and also the introduced species, Fallow and Muntjac. With good populations of Sika along the northern shores of the western Solent it would not be surprising to see them here too.
The presence of deer in the countryside can add greatly to people’s enjoyment of it and the Isle of Wight is no exception to this. We believe that competently managed wild deer can be a positive asset to the island’s biodiversity and economy.
Isle of Wight Deer Conservation was founded in 2015 by a group of qualified deer managers, farmers and landowners interested in maintaining a sustainable population of deer in the wild on the Isle of Wight, ethically managed within the principles of Best Practice.
Deer management goes far beyond simply culling animals and it is the aim of our group to record and exchange details of deer sightings, numbers and species, their age range and any resulting impacts that they may be having on agriculture and the environment.
With this knowledge based approach to local deer conservation and management it is our intention to assist our supporting landowners in keeping stable populations of deer at the modest densities known to be beneficial and by helping to mitigate any adverse localised deer impacts that may occur to agriculture or sensitive environments.
If you support the aims and principles of Isle of Wight Deer Conservation and wish to learn more about deer in the wild on the island please visit Isle of Wight Deer or email us at email@example.com