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Article: A munching menace; Dog-sized deer puts our birds in peril.
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- September 23, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: JULIE WHELDON
WITH its appealing gaze and small stature, it seems an unlikely scourge of the countryside.
Yet the rapid rise of the 18-inch-tall muntjac deer is threatening ancient woodlands and much-loved songbirds.
After six of the labrador-sized creatures were released into the wild around 100 years ago, they have bred voraciously with the estimated English population now 128,000.
In some parts of the country, the muntjac outnumbers native species such as red, roe and fallow deer.
And with the population expanding at the rate of around 10 per cent a year it is feared numbers could get out of control.
The ...