Deer rescued after becoming tangled in wire fence in Horsham

The rescuers from the RSPCA say they had to be careful not to let the scared animal wander out into traffic

Author: Jo SymesPublished 15th Jan 2024

A large deer had to be rescued after it became tangled in equine fencing and barbed wire near a busy road in Horsham.

The RSPCA was called out to the incident on Hornbrook Copse at around 8am on 3 January. The large deer appeared to be unable to move after getting tangled up in the two types of fencing.

The charity's animal rescue officer’s Louis Horton and Chloe Wilson attended the scene and assessed the situation, before deciding to restrain the deer and cut him free.

However on closer inspection, the deer became stressed and managed to untangle himself, leaving the officers concerned he could be a danger to nearby road users and himself.

Louis said: “At first we could see the deer was heavily wrapped up in canvas-type fencing, which I suspect was from a different location. It is not uncommon for deer to pick up discarded rope or fencing in their antlers and get entangled, before carrying it around for a while until eventually it gets caught in something else - or even another deer.

“On this occasion the deer had then become caught up in barbed wire fencing. When we arrived he appeared to be unable to move, but as we approached it was clear he was getting stressed out and could move more freely.

“We had to act quickly due to the location near a busy road and the risk to both the deer and road users. We covered the deer’s face to keep him calm and I managed to free his antlers using different cutting tools on the fencing.

“I had to redirect the deer using his antlers and steer him in the opposite direction so he could run into the large fields behind us and away from the road. Thankfully no one was injured and the deer was later seen running free in the field.

“Sadly, when wild animals get themselves stuck they sometimes panic which can make the situation worse. It’s really important that if you see a wild animal in this situation to get in touch with us so we can try and help as quickly as possible.”

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.