Statement from DCC Ian Critchley following incident involving a deer in Bootle on Sunday, 26 September

Following comments on social media in relation to the incident involving a deer in Bootle on Sunday night, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley has released the following statement to clarify the difficult decisions officers eventually had to make.

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley, said: “I want to provide absolute clarity around the huge efforts our staff went to to save the deer that was obviously in distress and out of control on Sunday.

"At the heart of our decision making was first of all the safety of the public, and the risk that a distressed deer in a built up environment presented to motorists, cyclists, pedestrians.  But also right at the centre of the decisions we made was the deer itself, as such from the outset the aim was to sedate and move the deer safely to a rural environment.

"In conjunction with advice from a local vet the attempts over nine hours were made to tranquilise the deer and a rural location was identified to safely transfer it, to minimise further distress and ensure its safety.

"Despite several tranquiliser darts being successfully deployed into the deer, this failed to sedate the animal.

"At 6.35pm following further discussion with the vet and the animal still being in considerable distress, and with the light fading, the really difficult decision had to be made to destroy the deer.

"All the officers at scene were absolutely gutted at having to shoot the animal. The officers had been engaged for nine hours at the incident and had been actively trying to capture the deer for more than five hours so were totally committed to relocating the animal. However, we had to ensure that a distressed deer did not present any danger to public safety.

"I respect people will have different views, but I can categorically say every single effort was made to save and relocate the deer and I am proud of all my officers who were involved in this difficult and challenging incident.”