A FAMILY has spoken of its devastation at learning its tame deer had been shot dead when it read it in the Journal last week.

Vets, police and animal charity North Devon Animal Ambulance, had spent five hours on the scene at Chaddiford Lane in Barnstaple, trying to subdue what they believed to be a wild red deer, which was darting dangerously close to the dual carriageway.

But the sad demise of Bambi has come as a blow to Tracey Stentiford, her partner Ian Worth and their heartbroken children, Owen aged eight and Matthew, four, who live at Sloley Barton, Shirwell.

Tracey said: "We found her in the field just over two years ago — she was nearly run over by the mower, when we were cutting grass for silage. The mother was nowhere to be found, so we hand reared her.

"I bottle fed her on cows' milk and she just thought she was part of the family. She would run with the bullocks and with the dogs and chase the quad bike around.

"We would feed her biscuits from the kitchen window!"

She said Bambi had been seen with wild deer from time to time, and would disappear for several days but always came back.

"She was also really well known at Blakewell Fisheries as she would go down there quite often."

Diana Lewis from NDDA said none of those people involved in the incident on Sunday, January 3, had any idea that this was a tame, hand-reared creature.

"These are very wild animals and it's exceptionally rare for one to be tame. Why would we have had any idea that this was a tame animal? There was no indication or marking."

She said that tame deer should have a Defra holding number and, if free to roam, should be subject to a Defra movement licence.

"It was concussed and behaving abnormally and had already twice darted out into the road.

"It was within 10ft of the road and there was a very real danger that if it got into the road again, it could have caused a devastating accident.

"The police, the vet and ourselves had to consider both the welfare of the animal and public safety.

"We would have loved to have been able to tell a story with a happy ending, but there were 10 people there at one stage and there was no way of getting it into the horse-box to rescue and release it because it was concussed and behaving erratically."

She also answered criticism that the animal should have been darted: "We were not aware that a dart gun was available.

"If we had all walked away and this deer had caused a terrible accident on the road, which was looking very likely, we would have been in court for irresponsible behaviour and would also have had our own consciences to deal with."

Tracey said: "I don't want to have a go at anyone, we just wanted to know what happened. It has been terribly sad for us and the children. It's one of those things that doesn't happen often.

"We would just like to find out now, what happened, who took her away and whether it's too late to have the body back."

Vet Rachel Forster from Market Vets, South Molton said: "When animals are darted they are not immediately sedated and tend to run away. The deer kept wanting to run on to the road which would have caused an accident, and would have been awful, so we had to consider its welfare."

Read the previous article and comments.

See Tracey's photos of Bambi the deer