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(Image: SWNS)

Pumas and leopards are stalking popular rural spots which explains why mangled sheep, foxes and pet dogs have been seen, experts have claimed.

Shocked Victoria Storey was walking near Brookland, Kent, when she found the bottom half of a deer with the top half ripped clean-off.

She said: "Just come across this. I was out walking my dog.

"It looks like half a sheep but it's a deer and the top half is missing.

"Whatever dragged this here must be sodding big. Something is hunting out here.

"Bless this poor animal."

(Image: FACEBOOK/ VICTORIA STOREY) (Image: SWNS)

British big cat expert Neil Arnold reckons the Kent killer is a lynx.

He said: "This looks like exactly how you'd expect a puma kill to look.

"They go for the throat and are capable of ripping animals as large as deer clean in two.

"People could say it was scavengers, but there's no mess at all and it's been ripped in right in half.

"Dogs and sheep being eaten is relatively common, leopards and pumas will take them up into trees to stop scavengers getting to them.

"Sceptics can't seem to explain what puts a sheep stripped-clean up in a tree, which we see frequently."

(Image: SWNS)

The 41-year-old, who runs Kent Big Cat Research, added: "It's good territory for panthers, pumas and lynx's, the three big cats that live in the UK.

"There have been consistent sightings in the UK since the Victorian era, and there are reports of fleeting glimpses every few weeks."

Mr Arnold believes the animals spotted by ramblers could be offspring of pets bought at Harrods department store in London.

He said: "People used to keep these as animals as pets in the 1960's, you could even buy them from Harrods.

"In the 1970's the government introduced a dangerous animals act meaning it became much more difficult and expensive to keep them.

"People will always be sceptical until one is caught on film."

"There are very few of them living in Britain," added Mr Arnold.

Local Lana Reene wrote on Facebook: "Funny you should say this, my husband seen what looked like a lynx type big cat at the back of our house and not only once."