Charity issues plea to public after deer that wandered on to Cleethorpes Beach died after being chased

Deer regularly venture on to the beach which can prove dangerous habitat

A PLEA not to chase any deer that venture on to the beach has been sounded  by Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue.

It says: "Unless a deer is collapsed, or stuck, the best course of action is to leave  undisturbed and unpanicked."

The appeal follows an incident earlier this week when one died, apparently from exhaustion  or stress having been chased by beach-goers.

Continues the charity: " Unfortunately, even though each safety teams did a great job monitoring the deer and asking people to stay back, some members of the public continued to  chase them.

"It is unclear whether this was an attempt to capture the deer or to encourage them back inland, but sadly, it caused unnecessary stress -leading to panic and exhaustion.

"Deer are extremely sensitive animals and can suffer from post-capture myopathy - a condition triggered by extreme stress that can be fatal.

"Later in the evening, one exhausted deer was recovered and received emergency care at East Lincs Emergency Vets. 

"Despite everyone's best efforts, the animal passed away."

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue says that, even for experienced  rescue teams, capturing multiple healthy deer across miles of open beach is neither safe nor realistic.

Attempting to do so often puts the deer at greater risk and can cause more harm than good. 

It insists: "The best approach is to allow the deer to return on their own - calmly and in their own time - which they regularly do without issue."