24/08/2026
๐ฆ Keep our parks' deer wild โ please don't feed them
Following the tragic shooting of a stag after an attack on a park visitor, local Lib Dem councillors are urging everyone visiting Richmond and Bushy Parks to remember these deer are wild animals, not tame ones.
Councillors met with Richmond Park Manager Paul Richards this week to talk through the incident and wider concerns about deer behaviour and visitor safety. Park staff explained that repeated feeding by visitors may be causing some deer to become too used to people โ associating them with food, which can lead to unpredictable and dangerous behaviour.
The message is simple: there's plenty of natural food for the deer across both parks, so there's no need to feed them.
Remember to stick to the signs โ keep at least 50 metres away from the deer at all times.
"The volunteer park rangers are doing a critical job engaging with visitors and reminding them to keep a safe distance from the deer. However, we remain concerned about the loss of the dedicated Parks Police, something we campaigned against. The MET'S Safer Neighbourhood Teams do have a presence in the park and are patrolling and keeping order, but this is no substitute for the specialist Parks Police team that was disbanded in 2025. Given the increasing concerns about visitor safety and deer behaviour, we believe it is time for the specialist Parks Police to be reinstated" said East Sheen Cllr Julia Cambridge.
