The Emperor of Exmoor, a

red stag Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition), seven gene ...

(''Cervus elaphus''), was reportedly killed in October 2010.Exmoor, Emperor Stag, shot dead

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, 25 October 2010.Fury over Britain's largest wild animal shot dead

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

, 25 October 2010. Its weight has been estimated as over and its height at . Red deer on

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

National Park are larger than red deer in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

owing to their diet.Britain’s ‘biggest wild beast’ — a red deer stag roaming Exmoor
The Times Online, 8 October 2009. The deer was given its nickname by photographer Richard Austin. Its body was reportedly discovered near the

A361 road The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at is the longest three-digit A road in the UK. History When first designated in 1922, the A361 ran from Taunton (Somerset) to Banbury (Oxfordshire). It was later extended west through ...

between Tiverton and Barnstaple in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, during the annual

rutting season The rut (from the Latin ''rugire'', meaning "to roar") is the mating season of certain mammals, which includes ruminants such as deer, sheep, camels, goats, pronghorns, bison, giraffes and antelopes, and extends to others such as skunks and elepha ...

. It was reportedly killed by a licensed hunter, and an unnamed man reported hearing two shots. Within a few days, other local observers reported having seen the animal alive, leading to the suggestion that this may be a manufactured story. Few of the reported facts can actually be verified. ''

'' called the story "a myth". The animal was believed to be around 12 years old at the time of the claim, but healthy. Older animals are sometimes

culled In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...

, particularly when their

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

teeth are worn, making it difficult for them to survive the winter, but a former worker in deer management stated that "The Emperor was starting to get past his best, but he was definitely not at that stage yet." The same observer stated, on the topic of stalking during rut, "... we should maintain a standard and stop all persecution during this important time of the year", but the practice is legal and the importance of hunting, both in species management and to the local economy, is asserted by the national park authority.

Deer stalking Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot with the intention of hunting for meat, for leisure/trophy, or to control their numbers. As part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting an ...

is legal in Britain under the '' Deer Act 1991'', although hunters must seek permission from the landowner. The heads can fetch over £1000. The possible death of the Emperor of Exmoor prompted several MPs to sign an

Early Day Motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House a ...

with the intent to ban hunting of wild animals in Britain. A head said to resemble the Emperor's was hung in the Hartnoll Hotel in

Bolham, Devon Bolham is a village in the parish of Tiverton in Devon, England. It was the object of much attention in December 2011 when a Stags head, said to resemble that of the Exmoor Emperor was hung in the Hartnoll Hotel in Bolham. The head was removed ...

in December 2011. The head was removed after the hotel received threats.

References

{{reflist 2010 animal deaths Elk and red deer Exmoor Deer hunting Individual deer Individual wild animals Individual animals in England 2010 in England