Lincolshire deer manager operating in East Sussex?

MPK5533

Member
I'm managing 250 acres on the edge of the Ashdown Forest (E Sussex) operating a cull plan. The small estate next to me has just implemented its own plan, using a deer manager named 'Adam' who travels down from Lincolnshire apparently. Anyone know him / in touch with him please, as I'd like to coordinate with him and scale back our plan if required. Thanks and apologies I don't have any more information other than 'Adam'.
 
The 'estate' is a small private estate owned by an 'high net worth' individual who is typically uncontactable /away on business. Their land agent didn't know.
 
how can the land manager not know who,s got his shooting rights lease or whatever arrangement they have in place:-|.shall we pop down n say hi im adam and fill our boots:evil:.must be written permission to shoot knocking about with say a phone number or mm oh yes an address :stir:
 
Its a personal arrangement between the owner and the manager apparently. The land agent was only involved in trying to sell the estate earlier in the year after the previous owner passed away. Judging by the responses I'll just have to continue to try and contact the owner.
 
Good luck with your quest to find this fella, but it does sound a bit strange that no-one at the house or grounds knows that someone is going to be stalking the estate though!! How big is the estate next door?
 
Novice question - If the 250 acres you are managing is on the edge of a large forest, would the deer not just keep on coming if (by the sounds of it) the forest area is not being shot enough. Is the forest FC owned and let out? Maybe it would be an idea to speak to the people stalking the forest rather than the other side and se what they are up to perhaps?

Stratts
 
Novice question - If the 250 acres you are managing is on the edge of a large forest, would the deer not just keep on coming if (by the sounds of it) the forest area is not being shot enough. Is the forest FC owned and let out? Maybe it would be an idea to speak to the people stalking the forest rather than the other side and se what they are up to perhaps?

Stratts

Stratts its more heath land than forestry ,that the general public have total access to , hence the problem with culling . Its all the small estates within the general forest area that keep some check on the numbers but it's an uphill task ...
 
Stratts its more heath land than forestry ,that the general public have total access to , hence the problem with culling . Its all the small estates within the general forest area that keep some check on the numbers but it's an uphill task ...


Apart from Pippingford Park which is pretty big and refuses to cull them! Shame really as the owner gets grief from the council about the number of RTC's near his place and so does a token cull every now and again to keep them off his back.
 
I sympathise with your situation however I too would suggest you carry on without any consultation. My experience is that whatever your cull plan is, Fallow will refuse to co-operate with it and you will end up being managed by them! There are far too many in that area, in fact there are too many in a band stretching from around Hastings to as far as the A23.
Hard as it sounds the best cull plan is to have a year of shooting on sight ( within the law and appropriate seasons)
and reassess it then. I have been shooting in the described band for the past 25 years and I am seeing more deer now than I ever have.
 
I have been shooting in the described band for the past 25 years and I am seeing more deer now than I ever have.

As someone who lives in a virtually deer free county I read this with some envy. Can I ask why you think your area has seen such an increase in deer?
 
People who live 4/5 hours from their shooting doesn't help the cause. Besides that people who just don't shoot enough. And then those that like to see the deer and look at you as though you've asked to kill their pet pooch when you mention shooting bambi
atb Steve
 
I think Steve has summed it up pretty well! Some areas have better 'management', some have other issues such as stalking sold on to syndicates. I would add:
1. But I want to ride my horse around there and I find people with rifles threatening.
2. Of course I can walk my dog here. I am within 500 metres of the footpath.
3. Of course the birds are a priority, the game keeper has a rifle so he shoots the deer as well
4. No you are the only person who shoots here.
5. We like to see deer around but not in the garden.
6. All of our shooting is done by .... He has 1000s acres around here and runs two game shoots. He drops off some sausages every year!
 
I've noticed that some areas/properties are a sink for deer & for every one you remove another appears to replaces it, so whilst it doesn't appear that the relative abundance is changing at this location, its having an effect on the densities & dispersal in the less ideal niches within the range. At one property I witnesses the removal of over 2000 fallow does & spikers from a single corn crop over a single season. The next year there was no noticeable difference in population at this "sink" yet several klm's away the decrease was noticeable. The deer simply moved to fill the vacuum, & there was still the overall effect on reducing dispersal & conflict on adjoining areas. I've also witnessed the release/escape of over 2000 fallow from a property 40 klm west of mine over a decade ago, now there isn't a fallow in that area. They weren't all shot, they just failed to thrive & dispersed to country more to their liking. I saw it again just a few years ago at another spot when some alpaca fanciers bought a deer farm & tipped out 500 fallow. Be lucky to see a deer there now, even though all those deer born on that farm should have some loyalty or attachment to that site. They were obviously missing an important need & whichever place nearby that happens to fill it will become the "sink".

The only way to manage any wildlife population be it deer, ducks, roo's etc is to monitor. This means establishing honest indices of abundance. Getting relative abundance & monitoring trends isn't hard to do or expensive in most cases. Unless someone has established an indices & is monitoring & adapting the management to this, then using the term "management" is disingenuous to those who do.

As for "four hours drive" thats just a wee trip up to the shops for some of us.

Sharkey
 
I think Steve has summed it up pretty well! Some areas have better 'management', some have other issues such as stalking sold on to syndicates. I would add:
1. But I want to ride my horse around there and I find people with rifles threatening.
2. Of course I can walk my dog here. I am within 500 metres of the footpath.
3. Of course the birds are a priority, the game keeper has a rifle so he shoots the deer as well
4. No you are the only person who shoots here.
5. We like to see deer around but not in the garden.
6. All of our shooting is done by .... He has 1000s acres around here and runs two game shoots. He drops off some sausages every year!



This is what I hear most of when speaking to landowners (especially in that area) about getting stalking, usually followed by "he's an old boy whose been doing it for ages and we don't want to upset him" Nothing you can do apart from apologise for taking up their time and move on.
 
Just because someone lives 4/5 hours away from their stalking does not mean they cannot undertake the job properly. It irritates me immensely when this comment comes up. I have been managing areas of over 15,000 acres in Scotland for the past 30 years, and have always got the job done.

Again this thread seems to have gone off the original track. So unless someone has the right answer for the original OP it will be closed.
 
In response to the OP - I will ask about and see if anybody knows of the person you are trying to locate, although unfortunately its a pretty big county!!!
 
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