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The British Deer Society has been investigating the amount and causes of deer wounding, and to that end 300 volunteer members continued recording data from all shots they fired during the period of a year. The data collection phase has now ended and the information will be analysed during 2007 to identify the factors covering the possibility of wounding and/or not recovering shot deer. The results of this study will be made available to other organisations to assist with better training and management and to set new standards for Best Practice.

Genetic Research screening Scottish red deer samples for Wapiti Genes

The majority of the UK red deer population is found in Scotland and has been strongly influenced by man over the past few centuries, with its genetic integrity questionable due to foreign species, subspecies and park strains. The Society is supporting research at Edinburgh University by Sylvia Perez-Espona concerning the introgression of wapiti genes into the Scottish red deer population through hybridisation with released wapiti, or by breeding with released park red deer which may be descended from wapiti/red hybrids.

Genetic Research into Origins of British Roe Deer

The first Whitehead PhD studentship at Durham University was awarded to Karis Baker to undertake Temporal and Spatial Population Genetics of Roe Deer in the UK. The Studentship is jointly funded by the British Deer Society and the Society has also been assisting with sample collection from roe skulls.

Tick Research

Society members continued assisting with a research project for the Health Protection Agency, Centre for Emergency Preparedness at Porton Down. Samples were collected and forwarded for identification and disease burden assessment. Other tick research continues elsewhere and the Society was also approached by Oxford Researchers requiring a methodical tick sampling exercise throughout England and Wales, the logistics of which made Society assistance with this impracticable.

Sika Research (Poole Basin)

Research by Anita Diaz at Bournemouth University into the purity of Sika within the Purbecks and the New Forest was concluded, and following peer review was published. Further research is continuing at Lulworth and Arne with the Defence Estates and Defence Deer Management involving Sika deer movement using radio collars and GPS tracking.

The Great British Deer Survey

The current survey has been recording data for the presence or absence of deer throughout mainland UK. The data collected from some 1,650 separate reports during 2005/06 was processed onto a database and plotted onto maps of the UK by Game Conservancy researcher Katie Hickey. This also identified gaps which required further information. The survey has now entered its final data gathering stage, with branch assistance filling in the gaps left by the original data gathering exercise. By late 2007 a picture of changes since 2000 will emerge, providing a clear picture of the changes in distribution of the various species.