A PETITION to save a stray deer, Oki, that has been nibbling vegetables from allotments in Ormonde Road has received more than 73,000 signatures form across the globe.

News that the town council was considering shooting the roebuck deer after it appeared in the allotments a month ago caused shockwaves afar a field as America and India.

The petition has twice as many signatures than the town's population, heaping pressure on the council to find a humane solution.

The deer is thought to have become separated from its herd and got into the allotments through the fence along the neighbouring train tracks.

Bob Jeno, a member of the Wokingham Horticultural Association which runs a store on the site of the allotments said the deer was not causing massive amounts of damage.

He said: "One or two allotmenteers might say it's a serious problem but I don't think so. It's not like locusts have gone through there and left nothing but stalks."

Mark Ashwell, who chairs the town council's amenities committee said he could not guarantee the committees decision before the meeting.

"It's quite a problem. The first we heard about it was the allotmenteers phoning saying 'what are you going to do about it?'

"We have assessed the whole site, we have had loads of experts in. We have four options.

"One of the options is shooting the deer. I think it was the deer society that came up with the idea.

"One of the good things about the petition is that people have come forward with lots and lots of ideas from experts.

"Another option is to make the deer uncomfortable in the allotments, to make a bit of noise and hopefully it will move."

He said other options included trying to catch the deer with a net or giving it a tranquiliser.

The deer's future will be decided by the town council's amenities committee on Tuesday, September 1.

The petition, set up Kate Jakubiszyn has garnered global support for the deer she has named Oki.

She says; "Wokingham Borough Council [sic] need to think of other ways to resolve this issue, such as improving fences around the allotments. Killing a deer because she has been eating a few runner beans is not acceptable.

"The lonely deer has become separated from her herd and made her way to Wokingham where she has now become quite settled. I live locally and am an animal lover, and I have decided to name her Oki."