A ROE deer that had been causing damage at Brookwood American Cemetery has been sedated by vets using dart guns and released into the wild.

The operation was carried out last week over several days in the evening and early morning with the use of thermal imaging cameras.

A spokesman for Tyndale Deer Veterinary Services said a doe that had been spotted earlier in the week was moved into an area where safe darting was possible. The doe, found to be heavily pregnant, was loaded onto a stock trailer.

“During the loading of the doe, the team were approached by a member of the public who was concerned that the animals were being culled,” the spokesman said.

“The individual was greatly relieved to discover that live-capture and relocation was taking place instead of culling.

“The doe was taken straight to the release site. She was observed standing and moving slowly away within 5 minutes of placement in cover for release.”

A buck that had been spotted earlier was later seen again and heard calling. It was kept under observation for a while and then disappeared, possible through a hole that had been dug under a fence.

While several more sweeps of the cemetery did not show any more deer, it was felt that darting and removing the animal would not solve the problem for long, without some structural changes to the site.

“Concerns were discussed regarding the fluid movement of deer in and out of the front gates and possibly over the low pedestrian gate,” said the vets spokesman. “Following departure from the cemetery, a roe doe was observed moving through the main vehicle gate by a member of Brookwood staff.

“As animals are moving in and out of the cemetery, then removing animals from the cemetery is unlikely to solve the problem of deer damage as new animals will move in to replace captured animals.”