Grantham woman shares fears over hunters with ‘crossbows and guns’ after discovering deer remains near Rectory Farm
A woman has shared her fears over hunters potentially carrying crossbows and shotguns after discovering deer remains at the weekend.
On Sunday (November 19) morning, while walking their dog, Michelle Edmundson-Harris’s husband discovered a deer that had been butchered, with its insides thrown into bushes near Barrowby Road, in Grantham.
Michelle believes the deer was hunted, as an hour before she was told by residents at Rectory Farm that they spotted a 4x4 vehicle on their night vision camera.
Michelle reported the incident to Lincolnshire Police who confirmed that it was related to deer remains being found at Barrowby Road in Grantham.
Since she and her family moved to their home two-and-a-half years ago, Michelle said the deer have been “decimated”.
She added that poachers and hare coursers had been removed by police in spring.
“Roughly two months ago we found an adult deer in bushes that had been killed and had its hind legs removed cleanly,” she said.
“They [deer] have gone from over 30 to approximately 10.
“My children and I walk our dog before bed and the prospect of someone potentially having guns or crossbows is frightening.
“We are waiting for a gate to be installed to prevent vehicle access by Jelsons building contractors and it can’t come soon enough!”
Michelle also believes the development of 400 homes at Rectory Farm is resulting in the loss of wildlife in the area.
She added: “We’re losing so much wildlife with this development and people are disregarding where they can and can’t walk their dogs.
“We’ve seen so many dogs bounding through the crops after rabbits, especially in summer.
“It’s heartbreaking to watch.”
Michelle is asking people to be vigilant if they see any unusual activity going on and if they do see anything to report it to the police.
In September of this year, Lincolnshire Police launched Operation Galileo to tackle hare coursing across the county.
The police have introduced new tactics and legislation to reduce the number of incidents related to the “blood sport”.
