Six deer species are established in the UK, with growing populations requiring active management. Deer welfare considerations span culling practice, vehicle collisions, disease and the welfare of individual animals in managed populations.
Wild deer welfare requires balancing individual animal welfare against population management necessity. Overpopulated deer degrade habitats on which many other species depend, suffer themselves from starvation in resource-limited winters, and create road collision risks. Active management through skilled stalking, when conducted to high standards, achieves relatively rapid death with minimal suffering and is arguably more humane than the slow death of winter starvation in unmanaged populations. Welfare concerns focus on wounding rates, disturbance of females with dependent young, and the welfare of deer injured in vehicle collisions who require rapid response and triage.