THIS handsome fallow deer was spotted in the New Forest with rather striking new look.

Antony Lowe, a member of the Daily Echo Camera Club, took the snap of the young buck between Stoney Cross and Ocknell Pond.

On closer inspection it turns out to be bailer twine tangled around his antlers and now wildlife experts have issued a warning to farmers.

Antony said: “ I popped out into the forest with my kit, knowing that there often deer around that area and hoping for a good sunset, but I had no idea at that point was I was going to get.

“Around 8pm I came across the herd and got my camera ready.

“As I was down wind I could slowly approach the group. I saw the deer and noticed something was on its head.

“I couldn’t quite make out what it was, so I got closer to get a better look. It wasn’t until I could get home and see the pictures on my computer that I could see that it was bailer twine.”

The cord seemed to causing the deer no distress, said Mr Lowe, who has been a keen photographer for six years and a member of the Daily Echo Camera Club for around a year.

He added: “I

n all my years taking pictures this has to be one of the most unusual things I have seen.”

Baler twine is a type of string or rope used namely by farmers to wrap around bales of straw or hay to keep them compact.

Dorothy Ireland, chairman of the Wessex batch of the British Deer Association based in the New Forest said that loose or discarded twine or rope can be “extremely dangerous” to deer.

“If deer get that kind of material on their antlers, it can cause them to get stuck and die a horrible death. Horse owners also electric fencing rope which can be just as dangerous if it isn’t taught.”

Deer’s antlers begin to form during the summer months. As they grow, this can cause the deer discomfort and, in an attempt to itch of the velvet coating to their antlers, they can get loose material such as rope caught around their antlers.

As approaching a deer is notoriously difficult, groups such as the forestry commission and the RSPCA face a tough task to remove the string from the deer’s’ antlers.

Dorothy continues: “This time of year, farmers are gathering hay in the field so incidents like this become increasingly common.

“Our message to people is that if there is any loose twine or rope lying around, gather it up and put it away so that deer and other animals cannot be hurt by it.”