Yobs yank on ‘exhausted’ wild stag’s antlers and slap it on the rump in stunning images
A wildlife photographer went to the park to photograph deer but was shocked to capture a group of yobs assaulting a male deer and pulling his antlers in a shocking display of cruelty
A group of degenerates have been caught on camera assaulting a wild stag during a cruel display in a Nottingham park.
The three young men took turns yanking on a male deer’s antlers and slapping it on the rump. The men wearing hoodies, gilets and tracksuit bottoms were egged on by their friends in Wollaton Park, Nottingham. The unsavoury scenes were photographed by wildlife photographer Chris Golightly, who reported it straight away to the park ranger. The group had already ran off before they could be confronted.
Chris said: “I was horrified at their shocking behaviour. It is bullying and an act of cruelty.”
She added: “I could see from a distance away a deer sitting on its own with people approaching. I saw a group of seven men, but three of them got right next to the deer. They grabbed its antlers, shock its head and slapped the deer on the rump.
“I was too far away to intervene so I rushed to find a ranger to show them my pictures. They went after the men but they got away.”
Police are now investigating the incident and there are renewed calls for members of the public to give the animals space.
Langbein Wildlife posted on social media: “Very sad to see, but thanks to one of our members Chris Golightly for highlighting this, in the hope to deter others from approaching deer so ridiculously closely.
“Stags, exhausted by a long rut, will often rest up placidly in parks at this time as they are too tired to move at each close approach by people, and the last thing they need is to be wantonly disturbed.”
In January 2024, another man had a lucky escape when he was rammed to the floor by a stag in the 500-acre park in scenes akin to the famous bull run in Pamplona, Spain.
Wollaton Park includes a deer park and Wollaton Hall, an Elizabethan house containing the Nottingham Natural History Museum.
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