James MacLeod always thought deer were cute and small until an out-of-control 250-kilogram beast crashed into his funeral home, leaving the place looking like a "horrific crime scene".

The terrifying incident at Tobin Brothers Funeral home in Ringwood, in Melbourne's east, left the company with a $100,000 repair bill.

Mr MacLeod said a staff member was alone in the building on Thursday afternoon, when she heard a loud bang and discovered the glass door had been shattered.

She went outside to try and find out what happened and saw what she thought was a small horse or pony.

It turned out to be a very large deer, which charged forward and "ran riot" inside the building for 20 minutes.

Mr MacLeod said the animal was already injured and bleeding and may have been hit by a car before going wild in the funeral home.

"It was bleeding and it's like a horrific crime scene in here," he said.

The animal ran into a small room and the staff member closed the door.

Six police officers arrived to help but they refused to let the animal out of the room until a ranger arrived on the scene two hours later.

The animal was put down because of its injuries.

Mr MacLeod said police told him it was their third incident involving deer in the past few days.

The damage caused by the deer's hooves was significant and the funeral home will need all new carpet, furniture and paining.

A funeral was due to be held in the chapel on Thursday night but was relocated due to the damage.

"The family were understanding but they didn't quite believe it," Mr MacLeod said.

Victoria's feral deer population is estimated at one million by the National Parks Association, with increasing calls to cull the numbers.

AAP/ABC