THIS is the shocking moment “irresponsible” parents let young children stroke wild deer in Richmond Park despite repeated safety warnings.
The alarming footage shows mums and dads encouraging youngsters to get within touching distance of antlered bucks.
One man stretches out a little boy’s hand so he can stroke the deer Credit: @Mandsby/X
A young girl feeds the deer at Richmond Park Credit: @Mandsby/X
One child can even be seen petting a deer on the head while others feed the herd.
The footage prompted the Friends of Richmond Park to issue a warning and brand the incident “dangerous”.
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They are urging visitors to stay well away from the park’s famous deer.
The extraordinary scenes were filmed over the weekend by regular visitor Amanda Boardman, who said she had “never seen it this bad”.
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People were captured crowding around the young deer over the weekend Credit: @Mandsby/X
The Friends of Richmond Park were ‘saddened’ by the ‘dangerous’ incident Credit: @Mandsby/X
The clip shows crowds gathering around groups of young bucks instead of keeping the recommended 50 metres away.
In one shocking moment, a man stretches out a little boy’s hand so he can stroke a deer on its head.
Elsewhere, a young girl is seen feeding one of the animals while a woman films the encounter on her mobile phone.
Ms Boardman also claimed people rode hire bikes through a protected skylark nesting area, disturbing the deer as they passed.
She said: “Several people rode Forest bikes through the protected skylark nesting area, herding the deer, while others were feeding them.
“I also witnessed adults thrusting their tiny children towards a group of young bucks with antlers. It was incredibly dangerous.
“Summer brings huge pressure on the park, with many visitors unaware of the rules. Habituating deer to people puts both the animals and the public at risk.”
Richmond Park manager Paul Richards said he was “shocked and extremely concerned” by the footage.
He warned: “This is deeply irresponsible and creates a serious risk of a tragic accident resulting in life changing injuries or, in the worst case, a fatal incident.
“Although they may appear calm, they can react suddenly and aggressively if they feel threatened.
“Stags can weigh more than 25 stone and run at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, making them highly dangerous if visitors get too close.”
The Friends of Richmond Park said: “The Friends of Richmond Park is saddened to learn of a dangerous incident involving members of the public getting far too close to the Park’s deer over the weekend.”
Richmond Park covers around 2,500 acres and is home to hundreds of free roaming red and fallow deer.
It is one of London’s eight Royal Parks and attracts millions of visitors every year.
The latest footage comes after several other videos showed people taking dangerous risks around the animals.
One clip filmed last year showed a man fleeing after two fighting deer suddenly charged towards him.
Another showed an influencer standing among grazing deer, while a third captured a man admitting he was “scared” as he fed raw carrots to the wild animals.
The warnings also come after the Met Police announced last year it was disbanding the Royal Parks Police as part of cuts linked to a £260million budget black hole.
At the time, Richmond Council leader Gareth Roberts warned losing the specialist officers risked leaving the capital’s parks without vital protection and placed extra pressure on already stretched local police.
