Estate appeals to dog owners after deer is killed

Staff at a stately home have warned visitors to keep dogs on leads after a deer was killed in an attack.

Burghley House, a country estate between Peterborough and Stamford on the Cambridgeshire-Lincolnshire border, is home to a herd of free-roaming fallow deer as well as grazing sheep.

The estate said that, before Christmas, "one of our two much-loved white fallow bucks was attacked by a dog and died from his injuries".

"This distressing incident is a reminder that even well-trained and well-behaved dogs can behave unpredictably around wildlife," the estate said.

It has urged dog owners to keep their pets on leads at all times once they enter the gates of Burghley Park.

"We know that many regular visitors will have noticed that one of the bucks is now missing, and we wanted to explain what has happened," the estate said on Facebook.

"Dogs are not permitted to be off the lead in any area of the parkland."

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