OOPS
Right I have gone all DEERSTALKER2010 and started harrassing members of parliament.
No doubt i will get no where but feck it.
Extract of letter to rossana cunningham and similar was sent to jim murphy
(My MP and MSP for the environment).
>>>>>>>>>>
This is a question on a very emotive subject and I am unsure of your position on this even though you are minister for the environment.
I would however value your views and response.
My chosen sport is shooting and in this instance deer stalking on Forestry Commission land which as we know is managed by the commission for the government of the day and therefore the tax payer.
My point is really not about my sport however, it is about it is about discrimination and inequality. The percieved view of shooting clouds the argument of course.
The overall point is this:
Why can a mountain biker travel to Glentress forest park and use the FC land all day everyday (on facilities that were built specifically for them at considerable tax payers expense) for free and yet when I stalked 30 miles up the road I had to pay vast sums to do so.
Different sport different rules but both on the same land with same landlord. Why the disparity in costs?
We have always done it this way is not an excuse and it is wrong. The leases bring in much needed income for the FC but so would the mountian bikers even if charged �2 per day, so it cannot be held up as a financial argument.
Now I appreciate with the firearms and public safety there is considerably more administration work required prior to allowing access for the FC but the sums being charged for stalking leases beggars belief.
Woodland stalking is not the elitist sport of the Victorian estates circa 1880 and I really think we are getting a raw deal.
I would like a parliamentary question on this subject raised. Can you advise me on how to proceed?