English: Roe deer in Islands Thorns Inclosure, New Forest This is a relatively remote part of the New Forest, easier to stumble across deer. The crisp leaves and twigs underfoot mean that they hear you coming before you can get too close but there are plenty of trees to hide behind. Just north of here is Studley Castle, the site of a medieval royal hunting lodge. The New Forest (Nova Foresta) was created in 1079 by William the Conqueror, and the area was subject to forest law to protect the creatures of the chase and their habitat. Things had changed a lot by 1851 when the Deer Removal Act was passed by parliament and, officially, all the deer were culled. Nowadays the deer population is 'controlled' by Forest Keepers who shoot carefully selected individuals using high-velocity rifles. Roe deer, like the female in this photograph, browse on tree shoots and shrubs. In the winter this puts them in competition with the commoners' stock, and thus there is pressure from the commoners to limit the deer population.