The founders of one of the north-east’s busiest animal rescue sanctuaries have spoken of their “outrage” at proposals for a deer cull in the city.

Keith and Pauline Marley – who run the New Arc Centre at Auchnagatt – have condemned Aberdeen City Council’s plan to hire marksmen to keep numbers “manageable”.

The charity caters for about 1,000 orphaned, injured and abandoned creatures every year – including roe deer of all ages – which they nurse back to health before being released back into the wild.

The pair join the likes of Aberdeenshire biologist, Adam Watson, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) director, Mimi Bekhechi, in speaking out against a cull.

The city council’s controversial plan – which will be discussed at the communities, infrastructure and housing committee on Tuesday – aims to address concerns for local trees, plants and other wildlife.

The local authority says the cull would also reduce the number of deer being knocked down by motorists.

It comes after the council controversially hired marksmen to shoot more than 40 deer on Tullos Hill.

Mr Marley said the proposal “completely undervalues” the work New Arc does to save deer brought into its centre.

He said: “I feel very strongly about it. The committee that actually came out with this in the first place is the housing and infrastructure committee – what have they got to do with the environment?

“I am absolutely outraged at the prospect of yet another cull on roe deer. It seems that wildlife management consists of nothing else but a gun.”

Mr Marley added there are “ethical and moral considerations too”.

“These type of decisions could have an enormous impact upon our charity as year after year we are dealing with more and more with wildlife,” he said.

“Perhaps the council should look at preventative methods such as adequate fencing, cutting back of grass verges, speed restrictions, adequate warning signs and impact studies on green belt incursions before getting the guns out for yet another animal cull.”

Yesterday communities, housing and infrastructure committee convener, Neil Cooney, said no cull would take place before a count on deer numbers was held.

No cull until number count is held, vows councillor

Animal welfare activists and Aberdeen residents opposed to deer culling have welcomed a promise that no culls will take place until a count of the animals is taken.

Although the council will meet to vote on culling next week, the last official count carried out in January 2014 found very few of the animals in the city area.

Some 46 of the animals in the south of the city were culled for a controversial tree-planting scheme.

In an e-mail to campaigners, councillor Neil Cooney – chairman of the communities, housing and infrastructure committee – said: “Any other practical non-lethal measures will also be looked at. There will be no management until a population survey is completed.

“We must look at the issue of population densities.”

Campaigner Suzanne Kelly said: “We welcome Neil Cooney’s comments, but are concerned that in Aberdeen ‘management’ automatically seems to mean killing animals.”

The New Arc centre cares for numerous deers every year and as recently as August brought in a young buck named Tuppence.

He was taken in after his mother was found injured on a wire fence and his sibling dead by her side.

Tuppence will be in the centre until next spring when he will be released back into the wild.

And in August last year when Hurricane Bertha hit Scotland, a four-month-old baby deer saved from the raging River Dee was brought into their care.

Earning the name Bertha, the animal is also due to be released by the centre soon.