A CALL to cull Exmoor’s red deer was made this week by retired vet Dr Ueli Zellweger to control the spread of a killer disease.

Dr Zellweger, of Winsford, said bovine tuberculosis (bTB) was rampant in the Exmoor herd, recognised as one of the finest in the UK.

He said red deer in the national park had reached record numbers which he believed could be 4,000.

Dr Zellweger said: “Some 40 years ago there was not much bTB left in this country, but then totally wrong decisions were made.

“For Exmoor and its prime deer herd it is a huge disaster which has been brewing for decades, extremely hard to get on top of.

“With bTB the spreading happens faster the bigger the herds grow.

“In one particular Exmoor region there are areas which by some locals are called ‘the graveyards’.

“bTB is one of the most tragic diseases with, similar to certain types of cancer, the longest suffering and slowest or most cruel death there is on this planet.

“Unfortunately, sadly, and very unpopular as it may be, there is no other way than thinning out, in other words culling.”

Dr Zellweger said the UK aimed to be bTB free by 2038, which appeared ‘grossly illusory’.