Although roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, are at present fairly widely distributed in Britain, and in many areas are undoubtedly increasing and extending their range, their numbers and numerical trends vary greatly in different localities. It is, moreover, apparent that the status of the species, in given habitats, is conditioned by factors other than human control and the availability of adequate cover and keep. Relevant comparison may be made between the respective success and failure of attempts to reintroduce roe to Dorset and to Epping Forest. The increase of roe after their release near Milton Abbas, in Dorset, about the year 1800, was remarkably rapid and within a few decades they had become common in almost all suitable localities in the county. During the two world wars, particularly the 1939–1945 war, they suffered heavy casualties at the hand of farmers and others, yet in the opinion of many observers roe actually increased in Dorset during these periods.