“I was first alerted to the roe deer in the cemetery two years ago by members of the Scotriders motorcycle group,” said Mr Norman, founder and trustee of Shanwell.

“I had a look and saw no issue with the animal’s behaviour or condition. It was looking healthy.

“It was going into the yard of the motorcyclists and they told me they trained people to learn to drive in that area. I explained it was a natural hazard to encounter wildlife and it would prepare the drivers better for the real road conditions.”

Mr Norman went on to explain that the roe deer, which lived in Roodyard’s Burial Ground, had spent the last two years peacefully making its way across Dock Street during first and last light.

“There’s only one example of a deer causing a road safety incident in the area, that I can remember, and that deer was hit by a massive lorry,” said the animal expert.

“In my view it was just commercial inconvenience.

“If the police deemed the deer unsafe then there was no way we could relocate the animal outwith a 1km patch and he would be used to having his territory and would have returned to the cemetery.

“I saw the deer a few weeks ago when I visited the area again with police and other wildlife experts. It’s sad to hear they killed him.”

Meanwhile, the business owners who had to make the “horrible” decision to have Bambi shot today told of their agony over the death of the “lovely” animal.

Alan and Heather Kelly, owners of Scotriders, said they had no choice but to have the roe deer killed by a gamekeeper after he became increasingly bold in approaching trainee motorcyclists during lessons at their East Dock Street premises.

The death has caused outrage among Dundee residents, with the Tele flooded with letters, emails and phone calls on the issue, but Mr Kelly insisted he had explored all possible alternatives and sought expert advice to find a solution. He said, “We have been here for four years now and Bambi has been here for all that time. When we first spotted him we went to several wildlife experts to ask whether he could be moved and they all said it wasn’t possible and he would leave of his own accord.”

Although Bambi was regularly seen in the Roodyard’s Burial Ground, Mr Kelly said the deer spent most of his time in woodland on their premises. He said, “We lived with him happily for all that time and there was never a problem until this year.

“We were quite proud of him and thought of him as our little mascot. He would come out occasionally, but would disappear the minute he heard a bike starting.

“However, this year he got a lot bolder and a couple of times ran towards trainees riding a bike and we had to stop the lesson. One girl in particular got a bit of a fright when he ran towards her while she was on the bike. We’re told it was because it is the

rutting season and he’s full of hormones and being territorial.”

Mr Kelly added that they called the police in over the issue and at one point were advised by the traffic police to stop a day of lessons entirely due to safety concerns.

“We couldn’t have Bambi standing there and facing up to the trainees and refusing to budge,” he said. “There is also the concern he could have got on to the busy road or the adjacent railway line. We looked into all the other options, but were told we had no alternative. It was not something we wanted to do.”