context, Epping Forest was 'overspent' on its £4.255m budget by £398,000. Protection of deer. Section 4 of the Epping Forest Act 1878 made all deer within the forest the property of the Conservators and placed a duty on them to preserve them. Due to a declining population of deer as a result on an increased number of motor cars that emerged in the 1950s and possibly due to increased hunting activity during the war and post-war period, a deer sanctuary was established in 1959 in Theydon Bois. The sanctuary houses a population of around 100 - 140 deer within 120 acres of land. Wild deer still roam the forest and it is the responsibility of two Epping Forest Keepers to attend road traffic accidents to deal the animal accordingly, whereby at least 40 animals have been killed in road traffic accidents annually over the last few years. The Keepers attended 63 crashes in 2009, which represented a three-fold increase since 2006. It could be suggested that an increased level of car accidents involving deer reflects an increased population of wild deer within the forest. The Deer Management Strategy included the target to reduce the deer population from an estimated 513 in 1996 to 200 in 2002. In 2012 there were an estimated 328, although this could be an underestimate. In deer-rich areas of the Forest, mostly in the north, the role of the Forest Keeper includes culling in the Deer Sanctuary as well as overseeing and participating in the work of licensed deer stalkers, who cull wild deer on the buffer lands as well as within some areas of the forest, which is an important role considering the risk implications for forest users. Protecting the forest from encroachment. This role may have featured more prominently during the early years of when Forest Keepers took office, whereby people extended their boundaries onto forest land. Whilst this may be more of a rarity in the 21st century, policing the boundaries of the forest is still a feature of the role. Forest Keepers have the power to remove such encroachments under the Epping Forest Act. Forest Keepers also have the power to remove any unauthorised structure, or any vehicle that people sleep in, such as a caravan. As such, travellers very rarely take up in residence in Epping Forest as they are removed swiftly without the need of going through the Courts. There