Deer set to be culled at Sellafield in Cumbria

Last updated at 16:04, Sunday, 26 January 2014

A HERD of deer is set to be culled after being trapped between two fences at Sellafield.

The wild roe deer are to be shot after it emerged that their habitat has been enclosed in a large area between two newly-erected security fences at the sites south perimeter.

Sellafield Ltd is acting on the advice of experts from the Deer Initiative Partnership (DIP), who say that the most humane and practical course of action is to cull the animals, thought to be between five and 15 in number. The cull will take place between February and April.

However, neighbouring Seascale Parish Council has strongly objected to the unnecessary move.

Councillor David Ritson said: This seems a quick, convenient and cheap fix for a problem for which there is another solution.

Would it not be a better and more humane solution to temporarily remove one section of fence and herd the offending animals back into the natural environment where they could live a free life, continuing to provide pleasure for those who seem and to enhance our beautiful Cumbrian landscape?

Sellafield Ltd says that this option had been considered by its own wildlife team and the DIP experts on whose advice it is acting.

A spokesperson said: Their advice to us was that deer are not animals which are easy to round up, as they tend to run and hide when spooked.

The experts felt that the deer would try and hide deep in the thicket and, in all likelihood, cause themselves serious injury in doing so.

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Deer set to be culled at Sellafield in Cumbria