The ‘vulnerable’ Chinese deer hunted for fun in the UK

Chinese water deer hunted in the English countryside are descendants of those brought over from China in the 1890s

They are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s so-called ‘Red List’

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A Chinese water deer in Bedfordshire, England. The species of small deer has become an unlikely focus of the campaign against trophy hunting in the UK. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00am, 18 Sep 2019Updated: 10:08pm, 18 Sep 2019

A species of small deer originating from the banks of the Yangtze River in China has become an unlikely focus of a campaign against trophy hunting in the UK.

The Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) are descendants of a small herd brought over from China in the 1890s by Herbrand Russell, the 11th Duke of Bedford.

They are recognisable by their prominent tusks that look like vampire fangs.

They were introduced into Russell’s estate at Woburn Park in Bedfordshire, along with other deer species, including one his family helped save from extinction in China, known there as the Milu deer or Pere David’s deer in the West.

But some Chinese water deer escaped Russell’s countryside estate and found the flatlands of Bedfordshire and the fenlands around Cambridge a perfect habitat to breed.

Today they are listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s so-called “Red List”, meaning populations in their natural habitat were decreasing.

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