Mass cull of red deer is planned

There are more than 750 wild deer on the Quantocks

Landowners on the Quantock Hills in Somerset have been invited to take part in a one day cull of red deer.

The Quantock Deer Management Group said it was necessary to bring the current total of more than 750 down to a manageable level of about 500

Animal welfare groups said the cull would be unnecessary and barbaric.

But Dr Jochen Langbein, from the Deer Management Group, said: "When it gets to 50-plus deers on their land, [landowners] get concerned."

Kevin Hill, from the Deer Protection Group, said: "I think it will end up a bloodbath. I am concerned that we will have guns positioned on every farm."

There are more than 750 wild deer on the Quantocks, down from 958 in 2005.

Culls currently take place every year and the deer management group said the 2007 cull was aimed at co-ordinating landowners.