THE DEER ON ASHDOWN FOREST
Discussion
Sadly, the problem with the deer on Ashdown Forest is now becoming very serious. Over the last ten years I have watched the deer population increase together with the number of deer related accidents on the roads. Originally, the problem was almost isolated to the Wych Cross area of East Sussex. However, the radius of deer population has now dramatically expanded outwards, and deer can be found in the Edenbridge area of Kent.
During the evening / night, and early morning, the problem is so bad that driving in my view within this area has become positively dangerous. Of course, driving slowly helps, but it does not avoid a deer jumping out from a hedge onto your bonnet. Late one evening I was returning through the village of Hartfield to find a number of deer just walking on the road. Last year during the afternoon a deer jumped out onto my wife's car as she was driving between Forest Row and East Grinstead.
Something drastic needs to be done since the number of accidents are clearly increasing, and the consequences of such accidents will only grow.
During the evening / night, and early morning, the problem is so bad that driving in my view within this area has become positively dangerous. Of course, driving slowly helps, but it does not avoid a deer jumping out from a hedge onto your bonnet. Late one evening I was returning through the village of Hartfield to find a number of deer just walking on the road. Last year during the afternoon a deer jumped out onto my wife's car as she was driving between Forest Row and East Grinstead.
Something drastic needs to be done since the number of accidents are clearly increasing, and the consequences of such accidents will only grow.
Bjerke,
You're completely right! I've worked in Forest Row for the past 3 years & have had the misfortune of one of those huge bucks write off my trust Astra over a year or so back, on the little twisty section from F.Row to Wych Cross as luck would have it. I apparently got very lucky as the size of buck had I clipped it side on rather than it's hind legs doesn't bear thinking about!
So I KNOW exactly what you mean & have had plenty of encounters & near misses as I work obscene hours & often found driving through the forest at hours when the roads are deserted! In terms of keeping one's speed down, there is no better deterrent!
You now have these "hotspots" where you know you shouldn't give it any welly unless you're COMPLETELY sure purely because of deers popping up from nowhere (As well as b
d pheasants!!)
But in all honesty, aside from slowing ourselves down, what more can you do really?
You're completely right! I've worked in Forest Row for the past 3 years & have had the misfortune of one of those huge bucks write off my trust Astra over a year or so back, on the little twisty section from F.Row to Wych Cross as luck would have it. I apparently got very lucky as the size of buck had I clipped it side on rather than it's hind legs doesn't bear thinking about!
So I KNOW exactly what you mean & have had plenty of encounters & near misses as I work obscene hours & often found driving through the forest at hours when the roads are deserted! In terms of keeping one's speed down, there is no better deterrent!
You now have these "hotspots" where you know you shouldn't give it any welly unless you're COMPLETELY sure purely because of deers popping up from nowhere (As well as b
d pheasants!!)But in all honesty, aside from slowing ourselves down, what more can you do really?
I've had sheep on the road when I've been through Ashdown Forest but not seen any Deer.
Someone should do an early morning Hummer run through there
I know Deer live around me (Etchingham).
A few years ago one wrote off a C4 Picasso. sad but funny sight.
Someone should do an early morning Hummer run through there
I know Deer live around me (Etchingham).
A few years ago one wrote off a C4 Picasso. sad but funny sight.
Edited by Stew2000 on Thursday 29th April 17:24
I live about half a mile from there. I see deer every day - and I've seen two hit this week - in the middle of the day!
That's why they made the big long straight past Munich Legends a 40mph stretch, no-one sticks to it, but they have cleared it right back so that you can see them coming. The local press reported a staggering number of deer strikes there last year, into the hundreds. I think it averages one a day within a couple of miles of here alone.
There's not a lot they can do except have a cull, and I doubt they will go down that route yet.
That's why they made the big long straight past Munich Legends a 40mph stretch, no-one sticks to it, but they have cleared it right back so that you can see them coming. The local press reported a staggering number of deer strikes there last year, into the hundreds. I think it averages one a day within a couple of miles of here alone.
There's not a lot they can do except have a cull, and I doubt they will go down that route yet.
SimonV8ster said:
Is it true that if you hit a deer you have to report it and wait for a vet to turn up to confirm its dead ?!
How many people would really do that unless they completely ruined the car.Last time I drove through Ashdown Forest it was incredibly thick fog. I actually kept to 30mph mostly because the car in front didn't have it's lights on.
SimonV8ster said:
Is it true that if you hit a deer you have to report it and wait for a vet to turn up to confirm its dead ?!
Not sure about that but it is illegal to stuff said bambi in the boot of your car for the freezer if you caused its demise......not quite sure why anybody would write the front of their car off just for a bit of venison 
....but its ok if you are the following car!Like Ironictwist I too have had numerous close shaves but did have two collisions within a month on the same section between Kings Standing & Groombridge. Strange thing was the first deer I hit at over twice the speed that I hit the second one did far less damage
Deer almost always travel in small groups so the golden rule is if you see one on the side of the road there will be another two or three waiting to run accross. It appears as soon as the first one goes the rest follow irrespective of the dangers. I have seen several collisions were drivers have slowed for the first deer & then promptly hit the second one.
Bodders
Living near(ish) I know the problem.
Are there and Muntjac deer on the forest? They are terrible for reproducing as this wiki-article says;
Muntjac are capable of breeding at 8 months old and breed all year round. After a gestation period of 7 months the doe gives birth to a single kid and is ready to mate again within a few days.
A cull is surely the only way to keep them under control with a balance between them living off the land and humans using the forest as part of our travels?
Deers make a bloody huge mess off a rover vitesse at about 100mph, my Dad has told me
Poor things.
Are there and Muntjac deer on the forest? They are terrible for reproducing as this wiki-article says;
Muntjac are capable of breeding at 8 months old and breed all year round. After a gestation period of 7 months the doe gives birth to a single kid and is ready to mate again within a few days.
A cull is surely the only way to keep them under control with a balance between them living off the land and humans using the forest as part of our travels?
Deers make a bloody huge mess off a rover vitesse at about 100mph, my Dad has told me
Poor things.
I live just on the edge of the ashdown forest and see them all the time, It's always a shame to see the dead on the side of the road, and know a number of people who have hit them.
Zeek said:
There's not a lot they can do except have a cull, and I doubt they will go down that route yet.
I thought that up until around 10 years ago they always culled the deer on the forest and I'm sure I heard somewhere that they were considering starting again.Guessing the car on its roof this morning, mid Ashdown Forest (A22, long straight after Nutley heading for London), was deer related - didn't look too good, although plenty of people sorting it out when I got there (~0535).
Looked like the car had taken a fair section of fence/tree/hedge out of the side of the road too. Hopefully driver ok, appeared to be sitting up when I offered help to the chap waving people back.
Looked like the car had taken a fair section of fence/tree/hedge out of the side of the road too. Hopefully driver ok, appeared to be sitting up when I offered help to the chap waving people back.
A cull isn't a bad idea if numbers are getting silly...but even with a few you can still get accidents.
The answer is deer fencing. But this is expensive and doesn't fit in with the fecking "if you slow down to 20mph and wrap your car in cotton wool the fluffy wuffies can't be hurt" speed-kills mantra. So we won't get that in our lifetimes. Bah.
The answer is deer fencing. But this is expensive and doesn't fit in with the fecking "if you slow down to 20mph and wrap your car in cotton wool the fluffy wuffies can't be hurt" speed-kills mantra. So we won't get that in our lifetimes. Bah.
I am pleased that this topic has created interest, and indeed I was sorry to hear about the very recent accident. More than likely it was deer related. It apppears there are no easy answers to the problem. Deer are lovely animals, and there is nothing nicer than to see them in the wild. However, they have to be removed from having access to the public roads. As I drove home on Saturday night from Brighton I knew that for the last 10 miles of my trip there was every chance that a deer would jump out.
The great difficulty with a cull lies in the practical aspects, and not least of all there is a safety issue. Quite often you can see 30 / 40 deer together. Take one out, and that still leaves the remainder. No easy answers since the numbers have been allowed to multiply many times over and indeed continue to do so.
The great difficulty with a cull lies in the practical aspects, and not least of all there is a safety issue. Quite often you can see 30 / 40 deer together. Take one out, and that still leaves the remainder. No easy answers since the numbers have been allowed to multiply many times over and indeed continue to do so.
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