Deer collisions in Ashdown Forest

There are an estimated 500 deer collisions with vehicles each year around Ashdown Forest and this number is rising.

Fallow are the main deer species to get hit on local roads in Sussex (Photo: Jonny Gios on Unsplash)

So far this year there have already been 254 deer collisions in Ashdown Forest (Photo: Isabelle Jani-Friend)

Conservationists working for The Ashdown Forest Centre in Sussex, are implementing a five-year cull in the area as the large deer population endangers local biodiversity and motorists in the area.

With increasing numbers of deer, conflicts inevitably occur. Nationally, there are estimated to be 50,000 traffic accidents per year involving deer.

There are a significant number of collisions with deer in East Sussex, resulting in injury or death for both deer and drivers, with Ashdown Forest in particular having some of the highest levels of Deer Vehicle collisions in the country.

But what is being done about it?