deer cull

[Sportsman]

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.

 

There is no cost to the taxpayers in shooting deer, at least in Scotland.

Most people who want to shoot deer up here pay for the privilege, often very large amounts. If you want to shoot a trophy stag it could cost you hundreds or even thousand of pounds. It is a major source of income for the Highland estates.

The deer are managed very carefully as they are a valuable resource.

If you want to go deer stalking on a highland estate you will be accompanied by a stalker, you will not be allowed to go up on the hill with a rifle on your own.

First you will be tested on your marksmanship, you will have to demonstrate that you can shoot a tight group at appropriate range.

The stalker will then take you up on the hill and will find a herd of deer with a beast that HE decides needs to be killed.

If you are after a trophy then he will find a beast with the appropriate spread of antlers (price goes up as they get bigger) but otherwise he will select a stag that either has a problem, is old and unlikely to survive another winter or that is unlikely to be a good breeding prospect.

You then have to Stalk the deer, or get into position where you are within range of the selected animal and can take a safe shot. This can involve crawling or even sliding on your belly for a half mile or further, all the time under the control of the stalker. You stop when he says stop and you move when he says move. Bear in mind that deer are extremely shy and easily spooked and live on open hillsides.

Once HE is satisfied that everything is as it should be he will hand you the rifle to take the shot.

Assuming that all goes to plan and you have shot the deer it will be gralloched (gutted) by the stalker and other estate workers will be summoned to take the beast down to the game larder where it will be butchered. The venison is sold by the estate but you may be given a piece big enough for a meal. If you have shot a trophy then the head will be prepared by the estate ready to be sent to you

Trophy stag - very expensive

Ordinary stag - expensive

Hind - Still expensive but bearable.

This would not account for nearly enough deer to keep the population stable so the majority of the cull will be performed by the stalkers or keepers, or people that they have known a long time and trust. They would be allowed up on their own, with very strict instructions on what needs to be killed.

On the estate where I live they shoot on average around 600 red deer a year, the majority hinds.

[corydoras]

Cory, sorry to say Calderpark Zoo closed Aug 2003.

Ahh well, that is maybe no bad thing, the last time I visited way back in '74 or '75 the place looked like it was in a bit of a sad state.

[Newt]

Bear in mind that deer are extremely shy and easily spooked and live on open hillsides.

Of course wild deer are shy and of course they live in areas that favour their senses and preferences. Yours - all open hillsides but others prefer forests or mountains.

 

If they are culling trophy class bucks then I have to say that is about the strangest thing I've ever heard of. Does and young bucks would make more sense in terms of population reduction to benefit the herd or the environment.

 

I suppose some folks like those overly managed hunts. To me it sounds about as exciting as kissing your sister or fishing in a carp puddle.

[Sportsman]

Of course wild deer are shy and of course they live in areas that favour their senses and preferences. Yours - all open hillsides but others prefer forests or mountains.

 

If they are culling trophy class bucks then I have to say that is about the strangest thing I've ever heard of. Does and young bucks would make more sense in terms of population reduction to benefit the herd or the environment.

 

I suppose some folks like those overly managed hunts. To me it sounds about as exciting as kissing your sister or fishing in a carp puddle.

 

I think you have misunderstood newt.

They shoot trophy class bucks (stags) for money, and probably the people who pay most to shoot them are your countrymen.

They are a source of revenue for the estate pure and simple, and are not shot to benefit the herd or the environment.

In terms of the cull, that is mostly hinds, or as you call them does. The stalker will always ensure that a good stock of breeding stags is left.

If you think that walking 15 miles a day through peat bogs and knee high heather, mostly at 45 degrees, and then crawling and sliding for 2 or 3 hours to cover the last mile, on your belly, through bogs and streams just to get within range to take the one shot that you are going to get all day is like fishing in a carp puddle then you must fish in some wild carp puddles. The hunts are managed to protect the deer from bad hunters, not to make it easy.

This is the reason that we have such large numbers of wild deer on the mountain, and the reason that hunters come from all over the world to hunt them.

It would also explain why we don't have a dozen shooting accident deaths on the first day of the season, why cattle are not killed "by mistake' and why our hunters don't have to wear dayglo high viz waistcoats over their realtree cammo suits.

If the average "hunter" wandered up a Scottish mountain with his rifle I doubt that he would ever see a deer. They would be gone before he got within 5 miles.

In terms of deer in forests, I was talking about the native red deer which is an animal of open ground. We also have deer, such as the Roe, which frequent woodland. Hunting for them is performed in a completely different way.

[Vagabond]

We are fortunate in knowing the guy who culls the deer on Ashdown Forest. Venison is the most frequent red meat we eat - does and young bucks - we dine on "the King's deer" at least once a week. We also eat a lot of gamebirds and wild duck, as although I no longer shoot, we know some people that do.....

 

...and when in Australia, we eat kangeroo instead

 

I remember we served you pheasant for one of your meals here, Newt - did we offer you venison for the second one?

[Emma two]

This is another example of the cultural differences between Britain and the US, which is often missed because we share loosely similar language. 'Sportsman' summarised highland deer stalking nicely (we say 'stalk' not 'hunt' when talking about shooting deer, and no doubt used the latter term for Newt's benefit). I would agree that it isn't an unexciting activity at all, and the supervision by an experienced stalker is crucial in ensuring minimal mistakes or sillyness on the hill. There is always the potential for people with rifles (or any type of gun) to get 'carried away', so if they can't get what they are supposed to shoot will shoot what they CAN shoot. I can imagine that the excitement from going 'deer hunting' US style revolves around wondering whether or not some nutcase is going to mistake one for a deer, or fails to take into account 'back drop'.

 

The business of stalking is considered testing enough that at least one time, (and perhaps they still do) elements of our armed forces, including special forces did it as part of their sniper training.

[Guest Jan V]

We are fortunate in knowing the guy who culls the deer on Ashdown Forest. Venison is the most frequent red meat we eat - does and young bucks - we dine on "the King's deer" at least once a week. We also eat a lot of gamebirds and wild duck, as although I no longer shoot, we know some people that do.....

 

...and when in Australia, we eat kangeroo instead

 

I remember we served you pheasant for one of your meals here, Newt - did we offer you venison for the second one?

you most certainly did, Dave

[corydoras]

Another thing about Scottish stags Newt, in the autumn when they stags are in rut, if you get upwind of him, he might just come a-hunting for you, and he can run through a peat bog faster than you can.

[chesters1]

at 18st of home grown fat a tortoise could probably out run me mind you the fear factor may not be as high so less adrenalin to help

[Sportsman]

We are in the middle of the rut at the moment. Last night I stood at my front door listening to the stags roaring on the hill in front of the house. A really wild sound as it echos off the mountains.