Dog walker fined £271 for letting his dog chase deer in a London park

Dog walker, 43, who repeatedly let his Italian greyhound terrorise deer in a London park has been fined for a THIRD time – racking up £761 in penalties since 2021

  • Nicholas Higgs, 43, was fined £271 for letting his pet off the lead in Bushy Park
  • He committed the same offence on April 24, 2022 and on April 5, 2021

A dog walker who repeatedly let his pet chase deer in a London park has been fined a third time for allowing it off the lead – racking up £761 in penalties since 2021. 

Nicholas Higgs, 43, was fined £271 for allowing his Italian greyhound to terrorise deer in Bushy Park near Richmond, south west London, on March 11.

Royal Parks Police were called to the scene by worried members of the public who saw the canine chasing a large number of red and fallow deer.

Officers then captured footage of the dog wearing a blue jacket sprinting after the herd, who scattered across the park in fear. 

Nicholas Higgs, 43, has been fined £271 for allowing his Italian greyhound (pictured) to terrorise deer in Bushy Park near Richmond, south west London, on March 11

Royal Parks Police were called to the scene by worried members of the public who saw the canine chasing a large number of red and fallow deer

Mr Higgs, from Teddington in south west London, was issued the fine by Wimbledon Magistrates Court on May 2. 

He pleaded guilty to one count of allowing an animal to chase, worry or injure other animals in a royal park. 

Mr Higgs has been ordered to pay a total of more than £750 in fines and costs by magistrates since 2021.  

He was caught letting his animal off the lead and running after the deer last April 24 and just over a year earlier on April 5, 2021, both also in Bushy Park. 

For the first offence, Mr Higgs was fined by a court nearly £240 when his whippet chased several different herds of deer in the royal park for over 10 minutes, with one seen scaling a fence to escape.

He was then fined nearly £250 a year later for the exact same offence.

Both cases were witnessed by police and captured on officers’ body-worn video cameras.

A spokesman for the force said after the latest conviction: ‘On May 2, 2023, Mr Higgs, 43, of Teddington, pleaded guilty to allowing his dog to chase the deer in Bushy Park.

‘This is his third conviction for the same offence in as many years. He was fined a total of £271 by Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court.

‘Mr Higgs’ dog, an Italian greyhound, was witnessed by members of the public to be chasing the deer for a significant amount of time on March 11, 2023.. Police were contacted and we identified the dog’s owner.

‘If you know your dog chases the deer, then don’t let them off the lead in a deer park. It will be safer for all park users, the wildlife and the dog.’

Owners must keep their dogs under control as deer can feel threatened by them even over long distances, Royal Parks Police said.

Dogs are allowed in all Royal Parks, but there are some areas where they are asked to be kept on a lead or not let in to protect the wildlife.

During the birthing season, which runs from May to July, the rangers ask that dogs are kept on leads and away from the deer at all times.

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