What can be done about the A120's dead deer problem?

BBC News reports a rise in dead deer along the A120 near Great Dunmow and sets out advice for drivers, who clears carcasses, and options such as culls, fencing and venison. In its own voice it says council figures back up residents' belief that the problem near Great Dunmow is worsening. The council's own spokesman, quoted lower down, says the reports are district-wide, not concentrated near Great Dunmow, and show only a possible slight rise. The overstatement is small and the article prints the caveat itself.

1. Uses figures that mislead

   Minor

   “figures from Uttlesford District Council back them up”

   Why this matters

   The words "back them up" present the council's figures as confirming, in the BBC's own voice, that the problem near Great Dunmow is getting worse.

   The impression it gives

   A reader believes official figures show a clear local rise in dead deer around Great Dunmow.

   The context

   The figures cover the whole district. They show 43 reports so far in 2026 against 42 in 2024 and 39 in 2025. The council spokesman says the reports are not concentrated near Great Dunmow, that there "may be a slight increase", and that the figures are only indicative. The article prints this caveat 21 sentences later.

   How we know

   • Elsewhere in the article“While reports are spread across the district rather than concentrated in the Great Dunmow area, the figures suggest there may be a slight increase this year”
   • Elsewhere in the article“The figures should be treated as indicative”
   • Elsewhere in the article“more than the 39 reports in the whole of 2025 and 42 the year before”