The RSPCA has issued advice on how to report animal cruelty after a group of men were spotted abusing a stag at Wollaton Hall and Deer Park. The three men were pictured by park regular and volunteer ranger Chris Golightly on New Year’s Eve.
The trio can be seen laughing as one of them holds the stag’s antlers, shaking its head. The group then slapped the animal on the rump before walking off.
The woman described the incident as a “cruel incident” that was the result of “stupid behaviour”. The incident has been reported to the park’s rangers, the police and the RSPCA.
The RSPCA said: “We don’t know the specific circumstances of this incident, but these images do appear to be potentially worrying. Deer are extremely susceptible to stress – it can be very dangerous for them.
“Generally, if someone has concerns about the treatment of any animal, we’d urge them to report this to us so our teams can make the necessary enquiries. If the member of the public has photos or video to share, they can advise the call handler of this too.”
A spokesperson for Nottingham City Council, the authority which runs the park, said: “It is disappointing when matters such as this are brought to our attention. The deer at Wollaton Park are wild animals and this needs to be respected.
“Unfortunately there are still a small number of visitors who choose to ignore the signage and try to approach, risking injury and unsettling the deer. This is incredibly dangerous and the animals should be left in peace to roam and be observed from a distance.
“The actions seen in the photograph are fool hardy and could have led to a much more serious incident and would have also distressed the deer involved.”
Officials at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said the latest incident “raises real concerns”, saying that wild animals need to be treated with respect. Inspectors at Nottinghamshire Police also asked anyone with information about the New Year’s Eve incident to come forward.
There have been a number of incidents in recent years of visitors disturbing deer and posing for pictures with stags.
An incident during which a man was thrown into the air took place at the park in January 2024, when the individual tried to take a close up picture of a red deer. At the time, extra signage had been installed around the park, advising visitors to remain at least 50 metres away from the animals. A stag was also put down in October 2022 after it injured a walker.
A Nottingham City councillor previously suggested people should be issued with fixed penalty notices for getting too close to the deer, but this was deemed ‘not practical to implement’.
Anyone with additional information about the incident is asked to call the police on 101, quoting incident 286 of January 3. Incidents can be reported to the RSPCA via their website here.