A Richmond Park deer attack that left a member of the public with serious chest injuries has prompted police to warn visitors to keep at least 50 metres away from the animals.
The Metropolitan Police issued the fresh warning as the park’s deer rutting season hits its most volatile stretch, describing stags as unpredictable, more aggressive and more vocal than at other times of year. The renewed appeal follows reports of aggressive behaviour in the park.
Officers said the most recent serious incident was reported in August, when a visitor was taken to hospital with chest wounds after being attacked by a stag. The animal was later put down.
Police described the August attack as the most recent serious incident, and the decision to put the stag down underlines how seriously such attacks are treated.
In the warning, police advised the public to stay at least 50 metres from deer at all times, not to approach them and — if a deer approaches them — to move away slowly and quietly. Dog walkers are being told to keep their dogs on a short lead throughout their visit.
Stags at their most unpredictable
Richmond Park is now in the middle of the annual deer rut, the breeding season that runs from late September to early November. It is the most dangerous time of year to be close to the herd: police say stags become unpredictable during the rut, turning aggressive and vocal without warning.
The animals carry serious force. A fully grown stag can weigh between 160 and 240kg, and officers warn they have been known to charge without any warning.
The force issued an earlier warning as the rutting season got under way last month.
More than 630 red and fallow deer roam freely across Richmond Park, and deer have been kept on the land since 1637.
How to stay safe around the deer
The advice from police is straightforward, but it counts for most during the rut. Anyone visiting the park this autumn should:
- Keep at least 50 metres between you and any deer, and give stags a particularly wide berth.
- Never approach deer, even for a closer look or a photograph.
- If a deer approaches you, move away slowly and quietly.
- Keep dogs on a short lead at all times, and keep them close when deer are nearby.
- Remember the guidance applies for the whole rutting season, which runs into early November.
Why the rut changes everything
The rut is the deer breeding season, and it transforms how stags behave. Police say the animals become unpredictable, more aggressive and more vocal — and at up to 240kg, a stag that decides to charge is capable of inflicting severe injuries, as the August attack showed.
October is also one of the busiest months in the capital’s parks, as autumn colour sweeps through London’s green spaces and walkers flock to Richmond Park’s open grassland. The combination of crowds and confrontational stags is exactly what the warning is designed to defuse.
Londoners are no strangers to sharing green space with wildlife — this autumn, a flock of rare-breed sheep returned to graze the historic meadows of Hampstead Heath. But the deer warning is a reminder that wild animals demand respect, whatever the season.
The police warning covers the remainder of the rutting season, which runs until early November. With stags at their most volatile, officers are asking everyone heading to the park in the coming weeks to take the guidance seriously: admire the deer from a distance, keep dogs under control, and give the stags the 50 metres they are asking for. Anyone who witnesses aggressive behaviour is urged to keep well back and report it to the police.
