Newmarket allotment holder calls for cull of muntjac deer munching hundreds of pounds worth of produce at New Cheveley Road site

A Newmarket allotment holder has called for a cull of what he called a plague of muntjac deer that were munching their way through hundreds of pounds worth of garden produce at the town’s biggest site.

Bob Smith, who has cultivated his allotment in New Cheveley Road for more than a decade, appealed to town councillors on Monday to have the deer shot as he believed that was the only effective way of getting rid of them.

“They are doing untold damage and are costing us a fortune,” he said. “I am not able to produce as many vegetables for my family as I used to or the surplus which I donated to pensioners in the area.”

He said the number of deer on the site now numbered between 12 and 16 and, as they had the ability to breed twice a year, that number could easily double over the next two years.

The 13-acre allotment site is owned by Newmarket Town Council, and the problem was first raised with the authority more than two years ago.

After a visit by the town clerk and Cllr John Harvey in September last year, the council agreed in October it would not authorise culling of the muntjac by shooting because the site was too close to houses and that such action might damage its reputation.

That decision was upheld on Monday when members of the community services committee also said fencing the site was not feasible, because it was too large, and it would not solve the problem of the deer already in residence.

“In my opinion culling these pests, which have been identified as an alien species, is the only effective answer to the problem,” said Mr Smith, adding that advice given to allotment holders on ways to keep the deer from their crops was patronising.