Deer rescued after getting tangled in camo netting in Essex
RSPCA officers had to cut him free
A deer has been cut free by RSPCA officers after getting a large camouflage net tangled around his antlers.
RSPCA inspector Jason Finch and animal rescue officer Jess Dayes were called to the training ground at Carver Barracks, near Saffron Walden in Essex, last Wednesday (21 April).
Jason said:
"The poor deer had been spotted tearing and thrashing around in an area of scrubland on the barracks site.
"He’d managed to get a large camouflage net tangled around his antlers and was dragging it behind him.
"We managed to get hold of the end of the netting and wrap it around a tree to secure the young buck and stop him from throwing himself around, keeping him and us safer.
"We used a rope to lasso his antlers and tie him to the tree to keep him restrained while we set about trying to cut him free."
The officers used scissors and knives to cut all of the loops of the net from his antlers.
Jason added:
"The poor buck was well and truly tangled but thankfully we were able to free him and then cut him loose.
"It was great to watch him cantering across the fields."
The RSPCA has said it is called out to more than 1,000 animals tangled in netting every year.
Animals can suffer severe injuries - which can prove fatal - often as a result of struggling to get free.
Netting can cut off blood supply to limbs, damage bones or even strangle them to death.
Jason continued:
"Please remove netting after use and store them safely so an animal doesn’t have the opportunity to get tangled; you could save a life.
"If netting can’t be removed please consider using a replacement that is made from solid metal mesh or something that is less hazardous."
Anybody who sees an animal tangled in netting is asked not to try to free them themselves, but to call the RSPCA immediately on 0300 1234 999.