deer cull

[Andy_1984]

The feeding of deer in winter on a Highlands estate is likely to be phased out and more of the animals culled to help the regeneration of woodland.

 

Trees for Life want to reconnect forested areas from the River Moriston floodplain up into the hills on Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston.

 

The charity will consult with deer management groups on its plans to control the large mammals.

 

The estate includes some of the last stands of ancient Caledonian Forest.

 

Trees for Life, which is based in Findhorn, Forres, took over the 10,000 acres in a £1.6m deal.

 

Executive director Alan Featherstone said a five-year plan had been drawn up for the estate, but the programme was still in the early days of implementation.

 

full article here

 

just doesnt seem right "Trees for life" sound like right hippies though they want to kill deer, "the man" is not the enemy anymore.

 

who knows they might be right in doing so but wouldnt capture and relocation do the same thing ? obviously i dont know much about the impact on forests from the deer so maybe someone can shed light on it

[Sportsman]

Trust me, there is no shortage of Red Deer in the Scottish highlands, just the opposite. The deer herds have been managed for the past 100 or so years and deer stalking is a major source of revenue up here.

Each estate will have a deer management plan which will have been worked out to show how many Stags and Hinds need to be killed each year to keep the population stable but unfortunately in some areas they have not been meeting their quotas and there has been a population explosion. The harsh climate and lack of good grazing means that highland terrain can not support these large numbers of deer, resulting in illness and starvation in many herds.

In this particular case the object is to regenerate the natural forests, something I am in complete agreement with. Deer will browse off young trees as fast as they show their heads and make regeneration impossible.

Capture and relocation of the numbers of deer involved is just not feasible, way too many and nowhere to relocate them to so an organised cull is by far the best way. By reducing their numbers it not only aids the forest regeneration but benefits the surviving herd by allowing them more grazing etc.

[Elton]

I've worked in a forest before and seen the damage that just a few deer can do. Years of growth can be munched in an instant.

[Emma two]

Deer will browse off young trees as fast as they show their heads and make regeneration impossible.

 

It's worth noting that deer are 'browser' feeders by evolution, not 'grazers'. They much prefer 'heads up' eatin' leaves and shoots, rather than 'heads down' muching grass like sheep. Their preferred environment would be is decidious woodland, and the once great (hunting) forests were preserved for them. De-forestation of much of Britain's lowlands has forced them into the less populated areas like the highlands, we still have some wildies here in the lakes too. I served wild red venison on saturday evening.

[Elton]

I served wild red venison on saturday evening.

 

I hope they tipped well?

[chesters1]

deer are artificially kept since we wiped out their natural enemies ,its not been that long since they were the sole possession of the king and their lords.

had nature had its way the deer would be probably in less quantity than now if man had killed them for food,cars do a great job today in culling them ,guns will thin a few more.

plenty around here as well .

not nice creatures ,covered in ticks ,they love rosies (not chocolate) and jump in front of cars making you jump.wanted to pick a dead one up just now but mrs forbade it ,nice food she forgets we and our kids on occasion ate lots of animals not from butchers no blooming complaints then.

 

farmer just behind us has one in a large pen ,i warned him if its a male it will try its hardest to kill him when its about 3 just as one tried with another farmer i knew that had one!! he shot it after getting out of hospital.

 

we have several varieties around here ,heard reds but never saw them i expect they'r thin on the ground around here probably parkland escapees living the good life ,munkjac (sp?) are very common ,theres thousands of acres of heath in the area so plenty of space for them and plenty of bogs to hide in.

britain was pretty much deforested in the bronze age so old forests should be nurtured

Edited October 8, 2008 by chesters1

[Colin Brett]

At Grafham Water a section of Savage's wood has benn fenced in to show the damage that deer can do. It's amazing how dense this section now is. It's virtually impenetrable!! while the rest is just a wide open wood with no ground cover of any consequence.

Most of the damage is done by the legions of Muntjac roaming the area.

 

Shame the trout aren't as prolific

 

Colin

[corydoras]

farmer just behind us has one in a large pen ,i warned him if its a male it will try its hardest to kill him when its about 3 just as one tried with another farmer i knew that had one!! he shot it after getting out of hospital.

Glad to see that there are still a few things that we see eye to eye on. A 'pet' stag is a risky prospect and as you say once adult they will be dangerous as soon as they go into rut for the first time. My grandparents had a female red deer (Elk to you Newt) as a pet for many years when my father was a child. My grandad found her in the hills when she was a fawn, some tosspot had shot the mother. If it had been a male he would have cut its throat on the spot.

 

In the end she was given to Calderpark Zoo. I believe that there is still a gravestone in the zoo for Dainty the Deer, it was there when I was a child at any rate.

Edited October 8, 2008 by corydoras

[morue]

Glad to see that there are still a few things that we see eye to eye on. A 'pet' stag is a risky prospect and as you say once adult they will be dangerous as soon as they go into rut for the first time. My grandparents had a female red deer (Elk to you Newt) as a pet for many years when my father was a child. My grandad found her in the hills when she was a fawn, some tosspot had shot the mother. If it had been a male he would have cut its throat on the spot.

 

In the end she was given to Calderpark Zoo. I believe that there is still a gravestone in the zoo for Dainty the Deer, it was there when I was a child at any rate.

 

Cory, sorry to say Calderpark Zoo closed Aug 2003.

[Newt]

Would not an open hunting season be an effective and inexpensive way to perform the culls?

 

Simply adjust the number of shooters allowed and the number of deer each could take based on how many animals need to be removed.

 

It's been working well for us for a number of years and is a money maker (license fees to the government and sales to merchants for shooting related items) rather than costing taxpayers.