The animal, nicknamed Bambi by locals, was shot amid concerns it might cause a road accident on nearby Dock Street.

The Tele has been inundated by calls and letters from readers who think the authorities should have found a less drastic way of dealing with the deer.

But Tayside Police and the Deer Commission have defended the decision to shoot the roe deer, claiming it was the most humane option.

The deer’s fate was sealed when owners of adjacent motorcycling business Scotriders contacted police over fears the deer might cause a serious accident.

The animal had lived in undergrowth at the back of the Scotriders premises for a number of years.

Wildlife officer Sergeant Andy Carroll said his “only option” was to recommend the shooting of the animal, although the final decision lay with the landowners Scotriders.

“The last thing you want to do is kill a perfectly healthy beast unnecessarily,” he said.

Sergeant Carroll said the individual who runs Scotriders had lived with the deer for a good few years, but got in touch with the police because it was presenting a hazard. The animal had become more active and had been trying to get out onto Dock Street.

Had it run out into the four lanes of traffic at rush hour there could have been a serious accident.

Sergeant Carroll said when police were contacted, options were considered with a representative of an animal welfare charity.

The potential danger to public safety meant the deer could not be left in the graveyard.

Catching it to release it elsewhere was also considered, but as the deer had fully grown antlers that might have posed too much of a risk to captors.

Thoughts of tranquillising the animal were also discarded.

“The tranquilliser is powerful stuff — it could kill a man in three minutes,” Sergeant Carroll said. “When an animal has been tranquillised you can only release it in a wildlife centre, because if it’s in the wild and gets shot by a deerstalker then he can take it to the butcher and have immobilum in his venison steaks.

“Also if you’re catching and releasing it, then you’ve got to release it within a kilometre because roe deer have a very, very strong heffering instinct.

“The deer can’t cope with it and within a couple of days it would find its way back. It would be like a drunk getting off a train in Dundee when he lives in Glasgow.”

After deciding that capture and release would be too traumatic an ordeal, police concluded that shooting the animal was the most humane option — a decision supported by the Deer Commission.

Councillor Craig Melville, whose Maryfield ward includes the Roodyards cemetery, said the decision to kill the deer was “sad and concerning”.

“I am not an expert in how such matters should be dealt with, but I can’t help wondering if there might have been a more humane way to deal with it,” he said.