THE RSPCA has launched an investigation after a landowner found a deer dying in woods near Lacock.

Patrick Goley, 45, of Bowden Hill House, claims he saw hounds from the Avon Vale Hunt in the woods shortly before finding the dying deer with neck wounds.

But Jonathan Seed, joint master of the Avon Vale Hunt, categorically denied his hounds were responsible for attacking the deer.

And while he accepted that some of his hounds may have strayed onto the Goleys' land, he said there was no evidence they had been near the deer before its death.

Patrick Goley, 45, of Bowden Hill House, near Lacock, said that on Tuesday at about 1.15pm he found the deer close to death near the edge of a wood on 30 acres of land at Bowden Hill belonging to his mother Diana.

The hunt is banned from the family's land.

Mr Seed said one or two of its hounds might have gone on to Mr Goley's land.

He said: "There is no evidence whatsoever that our hounds were responsible for causing these injuries.

"The injuries are not consistent with those that would have been caused by hounds."

Mr Goley said he was forced to shoot the deer with a rifle because it was unable to stand up and struggling to breathe. "It was distressing that I had to shoot it," said Mr Goley.

"It was laid out on the ground, head extended, with its eyes bulging, like it was in shock it was severely distressed. It had been severely bitten around the neck, which was severely bloodied, and it was making gurgling sounds."

A spokesman for the RSPCA said it was investigating and a post mortem examination may be held to determine the cause of death of the deer.

Mr Goley said he had been asked to check the grounds by his mother, because she thought a hunt had taken place nearby.

He said as he walked across her land he saw hounds on her property, but did not actually see the hounds attack the deer. Mr Goley said the attack on the animal had already happened when he got to it. "The animal had been suffering for a while," he said.

He returned to home to get his gun and said he shot the injured animal at about 1.35pm.

Last week, the House of Commons voted to ban hunting with hounds, but the House of Lords voted for a compromise option of licensed hunting.

Mrs Goley, who has lived at Bowden Hill House since 1959, said she did not receive a call from the Avon Vale Hunt prior to Tuesday's hunt.

Mrs Goley said the hunt normally phoned to notify her if it was likely to be in the area but on this occasion did not receive a call. "I certainly am not anti-hunting but we like to be notified so that the chickens are in and we won't let them out," she said.

But Mr Seed argued that he went out of his way to let landowners know that a hunt is to take place near their land. He said he could not remember if a phone call had been made on this occasion.

Mr Seed said the hunt had seen a number of deers in Spye Park during the day and shown no interest in them.