Durham Police drop charge against Thirsk man for picking up deer

Carpenter said he found it unlikely a public body would object to him removing the deer given the cost of cleaning it up themselves.

At Peterlee Magistrates’ Court in September, Carpenter said he was offered the chance to accept an out-of-court caution in exchange for no further action, but was reluctant to do so because it would result in a criminal record.

The case was adjourned, before police informed him on 19 October that proceedings against him would be dropped.

Carpenter said: “I’m grateful the police dropped it but it shouldn’t have got to that stage in the first place.

“Nobody in their right mind could have thought that a prosecution was in the public interest, but I don’t know why it took five months and a superintendent to work that out.”

A Durham Police spokesperson said: “There is a common misconception that deer carcasses can be removed from the roadside without permission of the landowner. It is, in fact, an offence to do so under the Deer Act 1991.

“However, in this specific case, we understand that Mr Carpenter had a genuinely-held belief that he was allowed to remove the animal from the roadside and the case has therefore been withdrawn.”