Moment dozens of deer stop traffic by running across busy road – as Ben Goldsmith says re-introducing wolves and lynx would stop them in their tracks

 A dashcam video of dozens of deer running across a busy road has prompted the brother of a Conservative peer to call for wolves and lynx to be re-introduced to the British countryside. 

Ben Goldsmith, a former advisor to the environment department, made the suggestion after a video of 3ft tall deers crossing the A15, in Lincolnshire, was posted on social media. 

Mr Goldsmith, whose brother Zac was the Tory MP for Richmond Park until 2019, said: ‘Of course, we can accommodate wolves, even in East Anglia – perhaps especially in East Anglia, where crops badly need protection from hungry deer.’

Deer running across roads kill and injure hundreds of people in traffic accidents every year. The deer population has soared in recent years to an estimate two million – which is believed to be the highest number in 1,000 years. 

Part of the reason why the population has soared is because there are no longer any natural predators – with only man able to control their numbers. 

Dashcam footage caught the moment dozens of deer ran across a busy road. Deer running across roads kill and injure hundreds of people in traffic accidents every year. The deer population has soared in recent years to an estimate two million

Dozens of deers crossing the bust A15. Part of the reason why the population has soared is because there are no longer any natural predators – with only man able to control their numbers

In one reply on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Goldsmith claimed the landscape is becoming overwhelmed by deers 

Wolves are natural predators of deer and were once common in Britain, but were hunted into extinction by the end of the 18th century. 

 However, despite the devastation deer cause to crops, Farmers have pushed back on proposals to reintroduce the wolf.

Minette Batters, the former head of the National Farmers Union, said ‘We couldn’t entertain the idea on any level of reintroducing wolves.

‘I think that would be a danger to the public, a danger to pets, and it’s proven to take out livestock.’

Wolf numbers have been steadily recovering in several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, thanks to conservation efforts, and now number around 17,000.

Their presence has been controversial, with farmers complaining about the impact on their livestock, with tens of thousands of sheep killed.

Last year, the EU said it would weaken protections on the species after Dolly, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s favourite horse, was killed by a wolf.

Mr Goldsmith said the wolf problems could be overcome in Britain.

He said: ‘I do not want to minimise the idea that this will be difficult.

‘Having large animals in the landscape is a nuisance, but all wildlife was a nuisance.

‘If we had somehow eradicated foxes, would we get permission to reintroduce them today? I suspect we wouldn’t.

‘East Anglia, and especially Lincolnshire, is where much of our food is produced. Like the rest of Britain, the landscape is becoming overwhelmed by deer which are wrecking crops. The return of native lynx and wolves would be the ideal solution. Seriously, why not?

‘There are wolves now in every single continental European country, and not just in the wilderness, but in some of the most intensively farmed, densely populated regions of Europe.

‘Taking this argument to its logical conclusion, why stop at wolves? There is conflict with all wildlife.

‘Foxes kill chickens, seals cause salmon farms all kinds of trouble, moles ruin lawns and fields, badgers eat game bird eggs. Shall we eradicate them all?’

Many wildlife campaigners have been more focused on pushing for the return of lynx, with specific proposals for projects in Scotland and Northumberland in recent years.

Last year, the environment department said species reintroduction was not a government priority.