Anger over Wildlife Trust plans to shoot deers on wildlife reserve in Leicestershire

People living in a village close to a nature reserve have criticised plans by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust to cull deer.

The charity plans to shoot some muntjac deer to protect 13,000 newly-planted saplings on the site at Holwell near Melton Mowbray.

The Wildlife Trust also argues that the muntjac deer don't have any natural predators and need their population to be controlled.

The co-ordinator of the local campaign against the cull, Simon Wilkinson Blake, says they don't have a problem with the muntjac deer.

He says that locals found it "incomprehensible" that "a wildlife trust would shoot animals on our local nature reserve".

He said the plans were "cruel, unnecessary and dangerous. Shooting an animal must be the last resort".

He added that people in the area are worried they could be caught in the firing line.

Mr Wilkinson-Blake said they were "worried about live ammunition being shot where people walk and ramble every day."

They say that the wildlife trust won't tell them when they plan on starting the cull.

Other locals who use the park area say they don't believe that the animals need to be culled, and that they don't have any problem with them.

The Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust said "the management of the site is very important it has to benefit all of nature."

The muntjac has no natural predators so they need to manage their growing population, and stress that the cull is no risk to the public.

The Trust said "the numbers of muntjac here need to be at levels that allow all wildlife to flourish."

The date of the cull hasn't yet been made public.

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