Growing numbers of deer across the west of Scotland are being hunted in urban areas by young adults with packs of dogs in what the nation's leading animal charity describes as a "growing bloodlust".
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) is warning that incidents of deer being hunted by teenagers, sometimes armed with guns, is on the increase in the Greater Glasgow area, and has urged members of the public to help stamp out the trend.
The SSPCA said there were 14 reported incidents of gangs hunting deer in the region last year alone, mainly in the Knightswood and Millerston areas. But the body says the true number of deer deaths is likely to be far greater, given people's reticence to report gang activities to police.
In one brutal case, a young roe deer was chased by a group of young men with dogs in Knightswood. The animal jumped into a ditch, where it was shot in the head with airgun pellets.
The group, whose members were in their late-teens, then dragged the roe out and jumped repeatedly on its head while it was still alive. The force of the injuries was so severe that the deer was found with its jaw completely dislocated from its skull.
In another incident in Millerston, to the north of the city, the SSPCA received a telephone call from a man who awoke to find the body of a young deer hanging from his washing line, its throat cut. And four deer were killed in the Millerston district last year.
Incidents are also known to have taken place around the former Gartloch Hospital. The country's rising roe deer population means the animals are now increasingly found in urban environs such as city parkland and housing estates.
Doreen Graham, spokeswoman for the SSPCA, said: "We are receiving regular calls concerning the illegal coursing of deer across the west coast in and around Glasgow.
"More and more, the perpetrators seem to be in their late-teens, which is a deeply worrying trend.
"This isn't about sport, or gambling. This is a growing bloodlust."
Ms Graham added: "Unfortunately, trying to catch these people is very, very difficult. We have to find them in the act of killing the deer, and their activities take place in the early hours of the morning."
Joe Connelly, Strathclyde Police's wildlife crime co-ordinator, said: "In the past these groups of youths might just have gone hunting for rabbits, but the explosion in the urban deer population means they're targeting deer now. Most cases are brutal, and you have to wonder what else these people are capable of doing."
Nick Halfhide, director of the Deer Commission for Scotland, echoed the SSPCA's calls for the public to act as its "eyes and ears" in helping to root out the problem.
Mr Halfhide added that he was aware of similar cases occurring in Aberdeenshire where, last November, three roe deer and one red deer were discovered at the edge of woodland at Cushnie in Aberdeenshire.
The animals had been shot with a rifle and left in a ditch.
Strathclyde Police said it is receiving increasing reports of young men with dogs, sometimes armed, hunting deer, and that the incidents were occurring as far afield as the Faifley area of Clydebank and Gleniffer Braes in Renfrewshire.
The SSPCA is urging anyone witnessing animal cruelty to call its animal helpline on 0870 73 77722, or their local police station.
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