Shoot more Deer !

[paulbshooting]

It's a complex issue and virtually impossible to change for everyone's benefit. We are into our third year with a tiny venison business that now covers all my stalking costs and haven't had the pleasure of going to a game dealer since. Stalking, processing and selling between 3 to 6 deer per week, mainly fallow. Fortunate to have a good other job that feeds the kids but take pleasure from the stalking and selling local wild venison to local people and hospitality clients.

 

[old 30-06]

Pete6.5, I hear what you say about the organisational difficulties. I meant that the scheme would work alongside the existing stalker, not replace them. Once a week for a "part timer" should be achievable. I would like to add that the problem of large deer numbers, and the difficulty of disposing of venison, has happened on your watch. If you do not like or agree with my "solution", what do you suggest ?

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Only my second post so go gentle

There is no doubt we are in a situation of our own making, the deer need to be shot end of and there is no pretty way of going about it.

In my personal opinion, night shooting should be legal and no closed seasons, those who can’t stomach it make way for those who can, CD carcasses either dumped or buried may need to happen and people need to stop worrying about how much the dealer rate is.

The canvas needs to be cleared or reduced to maintainable levels.

As for carcasses, well brexit ballsed that up, I remember the days when there was always an artic trailer at the dealers being loaded for export.

 

[David Barker]

In which case, only take on the amount of land which requires you cull the number of deer you can get rid of. Too many people have more land / deer than they can shoot.



I think it is pretty widely acknowledged across the stalking community and outside of government that deer numbers need reducing in many places. This is not driven by ill-informed politicians.

Ok i will take that on the chin lol. I had a small area of land in Glasgow that was being monitored and studied by the then SNH ( No Names ) I asked out of interest how many deer i should remove to keep the number the same. The answer came back 16 10 female and 6 males. At the end of the first full years we had culled 89 deer. Second year 74 and the same year 3. So may be the advice can be taken with a pinch of Salt. Yes we have to many deer but that is not my or your problem its a government one and it is one of there own making.

 

[big ears]

Yes we have to many deer but that is not my or your problem its a government one and it is one of there own making.

Not sure I agree with this. Government do not have any control over how many deer are shot. They don’t put a tag system on them as they do in the states.
The issue of too many deer is in the hands if the stalkers not shooting enough. Clear as.
This is complex and reasons are many. As @75 said Many have more land than they can cope with and hold onto it tightly. Some have permissions they very rarely go to. Others hold huge tracts of land to support their client based stalking business (no deer means no clients). Others don’t stalk as they feel their efforts are not valued at the game dealers and want more.
The reality is that more deer must be shot. Anyone with land who does not visit it regularly and actively shoot any in season deer is at fault. Not the government. They are to blame for a lot if other stuff which affects us but not this.

BE

 

[Ratel]

Well we are down on our doe cull this year mainly due to weather and condition of the land. We have two rivers that we need to ford to get to a few hundred acres and many fields along the rivers have been flooded since November. With the fords still running at a five foot depth, two villages flooded and largely evacuated it makes life very difficult all round. The deer have been in groups up to 100 strong and footpath ramblers with loose dogs make things doubly difficult with many stalks aborted. It all looks so easy to outsiders but it ain't, footpaths and the absence of backstops not being good in a number of places. This is an abnormal year all round and we can only hope to increase our numbers next year. We still have a few bucks to catch up with and hopefully the weather will improve to enable us to do this. Due to reduced numbers we have been able to move carcasses on but I worry about next Fallow season.

 

[VSS]

Well we are down on our doe cull this year mainly due to weather and condition of the land. We have two rivers that we need to ford to get to a few hundred acres and many fields along the rivers have been flooded since November. With the fords still running at a five foot depth, two villages flooded and largely evacuated it makes life very difficult all round. The deer have been in groups up to 100 strong and footpath ramblers with loose dogs make things doubly difficult with many stalks aborted. It all looks so easy to outsiders but it ain't, footpaths and the absence of backstops not being good in a number of places. This is an abnormal year all round and we can only hope to increase our numbers next year. We still have a few bucks to catch up with and hopefully the weather will improve to enable us to do this. Due to reduced numbers we have been able to move carcasses on but I worry about next Fallow season.

Do you have a strategy going forward? It seems that wet winters are becoming the norm, but because they're also mild the natural mortality of deer is lower I think (no science to back that up, just my opinion).

 

[shakey jake]

Only my second post so go gentle

There is no doubt we are in a situation of our own making, the deer need to be shot end of and there is no pretty way of going about it.

In my personal opinion, night shooting should be legal and no closed seasons, those who can’t stomach it make way for those who can, CD carcasses either dumped or buried may need to happen and people need to stop worrying about how much the dealer rate is.

The canvas needs to be cleared or reduced to maintainable levels.

As for carcasses, well brexit ballsed that up, I remember the days when there was always an artic trailer at the dealers being loaded for export.

whats CD mean?

 

[tim@tcs]

There is a food charity at the stalking show “the country food trust” perhaps they can take away the surplus venison?
Can someone ask and find out please?

 

[VSS]

There is a food charity at the stalking show “the country food trust” perhaps they can take away the surplus venison?
Can someone ask and find out please?

Is that the one where stalkers are expected to donate carcases for free, but the participating game dealer retains the haunches and loins?
If so, I think we should all be having a word with them...

 

[big ears]

Is that the one where stalkers are expected to donate carcases for free, but the participating game dealer retains the haunches and loins?
If so, I think we should all be having a word with them...

I understand your comment but Does that really matter? The issue is more deer need shooting. If one of the reasons they are not shot is lack of outlet for carcasses then this food charity works. What they do after then is up to them.
It’s easy to find excuses not to shoot more deer but that’s one of the reasons we are in this mess.

 

[Ratel]

Do you have a strategy going forward? It seems that wet winters are becoming the norm, but because they're also mild the natural mortality of deer is lower I think (no science to back that up, just my opinion).

Aye you're probably right about.milder, wetter winters. It's bad enough for the farmers they can't get to fields that need planting so short of bridge building or buying a boat we are all a bit stuck. If only some of our neighbours would concentrate on shooting a number of does instead of bucks it might help. And of course unfortunately our FC neighbours are one ranger down.Come next doe season I may have to get a couple more lads or lasses occupying high seats on a regular basis as it's the female of the species that needs a heavy reduction, and I'm not getting any younger.

 

[VSS]

I understand your comment but Does that really matter? The issue is more deer need shooting. If one of the reasons they are not shot is lack of outlet for carcasses then this food charity works. What they do after then us up to them.
It’s easy to find excuses not to shoot more deer but that one if the reasons we are in this mess.

Yes it does matter!
If I'm donating something to charity, I expect other people involved in the process to be reasonably charitable too, not cream the top off my donation for their own profit!

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

whats CD mean?

Big fingers little key pad meant to type So

 

[Tim.243]

Yes it does matter!
If I'm donating something to charity, I expect other people involved in the process to be reasonably charitable too, not cream the top off my donation for their own profit!

Charity starts as home Tim

 

[Dan Newcombe]

The basic issue is that ‘we’ havent been doing the job that we as a collective should have been doing and now it’s coming to bite everyone in the arse.

The fact that the outlets are rubbish at the moment is our own fault and if more deer do t start getting shot then recreational stalkers are the ones that are going to miss out.

My suggestion is that we need to shoot more deer and find a way to move them and stop moaning about the price. Don’t like it then get another hobby, there aren’t many that pay anything at all back.

We reap what we sow

 

[VSS]

Charity starts as home Tim

Well I already donate enough venison to my own freezer, so that's that sorted.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Yes it does matter!
If I'm donating something to charity, I expect other people involved in the process to be reasonably charitable too, not cream the top off my donation for their own profit!

No it doesn’t I’m afraid, if I have a larder full of deer and i need to keep killing, come and empty it by all means!

Here lies the problem will deer stalking ££££££

 

[big ears]

Yes it does matter!
If I'm donating something to charity, I expect other people involved in the process to be reasonably charitable too, not cream the top off my donation for their own profit!

You won’t be voting conservative at the next election then

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

The basic issue is that ‘we’ havent been doing the job that we as a collective should have been doing and now it’s coming to bite everyone in the arse.

The fact that the outlets are rubbish at the moment is our own fault and if more deer do t start getting shot then recreational stalkers are the ones that are going to miss out.

My suggestion is that we need to shoot more deer and find a way to move them and stop moaning about the price. Don’t like it then get another hobby, there aren’t many that pay anything at all back.

We reap what we sow

some of us have been killing but unfortunately there are too many who talk a good talk