BBC and deer - a refreshingly balanced piece…

[User100]

Of course, whilst you can take @VSS's offer at face value, you could also interpret it as making the point (as he has consistently in this thread) that if you care to learn the regs & practise some skills, then there is a quality product that can be sold at a good price for all concerned.

And there just may be someone nearer you who reads this and thinks that direct venison butchery and sales may just suit him/her... and may be prepared to do business with you.

 

[rem284]

Atm. We have a deer population problem. Let's not make more problems by introducing animals that might not make such a difference to the deer population but give us more problems to deal with. Imagine releasing your fully trained valuable snoodledoodle just to find that wolves robbed you of you best dog ever and best friend.

There are large lumps of land near me where the owners either don't shoot deer at all, or they shoot very few in order that they have a lot to go at with clients. I have a zero tolerance policy on deer as long as I can legally harvest them. Scottish Government need to think and take action if we are to have any effect on the overall population of deer

 

[sauer]

i can see VSS & free foresters position as i to an a small scale producer albeit on an adhoc basis as im away with main job on an oncall basis so if im honest with myself im only indulging myself in a hobby but i like to think im trying to push our side of argument against antis with medium of food. plus myself and family love food and i enjoy the butchery side..im lucky to be able to indulge myself

then i read Norfolk Deers post .....yes you will need to put effort in to make money its not easy ... nothing worthwhile is or everyone be doing it
quads chiller ... leases etc all to basically enjoy being out and pull a trigger

as someone else said new years resolution ....try shoot more deer

id say ...eat more venison ! and try to do more with yer own kill rather than a dealer ...where practiable


predators?

i think our island is too wee ... but hey .... im willing to let an area try it see what happens ...but liability and moeny in bank for livestock refund schemes etc should be a condition to any group who lets em go .....


Paul

 

[Leec6.5]

.

 

[Leec6.5]

Yes I have all the gear, but I won’t be making any New Year’s resolutions that say shoot more deer!

Exactly the same as my carp fishing, I’ve got £1000’s of gear and some, I pay £700 a season for my syndicate, but does that mean I’m gonna make money out of it or catch carp?

I’ve been in this game far too long to worry about making money any more, it’s all about getting out there enjoying yourself, and doing the best you can with the ground you’ve got!

Yes, you can make a few quid by busting a gut cutting all your own venison, which is a labour of love and if you really put your heart into it, you’re not making any bloody money really if you charge yourself an hourly rate etc, exactly the same reason as a qualified butcher I don’t do it if I’m not earning £15/hr cutting up venison, and then selling it any which way I can then in the grand scheme of things it’s just not worth doing.

So that’s where I say give it away, and that’s what I do if I have a surplus fallow or roe and I know somebody who wants one or they’ve got to do is come up pick it up and take it away, I am long past the stage of scrabbling around like ants around a pile of to make a ££££

 

[Brighty3006]

I was recently in Holland and they have shot the first Wolf that was causing problems. A dog or two killed and I believe it had bitten a child and had begun to become a threat to other people in an area where families enjoyed the outdoors. The problem now is the Wolf lovers are in uproar wanting to know if is the right one. I would love to see wolves but I think it would never be a practical solution to our so called deer problems. Same hunting trip i went to Germany after Boar with Dutch friends and they all were saying the Wolf population is exploding in Europe and causing huge problems

 

[MilesW]

37500 deer stalking members on this forum alone, and deer populations keep rising.

I do suspect a hint of sarcasm here, but I do think it would be enlightening to know just how many of those 37500 are currently active UK deer stalkers.

 

[MilesW]

I’d take issue with that. Usually it’s the removal of species from a system or the introduction of a non-native that goes badly, not the reintroduction.

In the five centuries or so of absence, the human population has exploded (approx +60million), land use has changed, the physical environment has been almost totally transformed. Under those conditions, it would not be a re-introduction, but the introduction of what is now a non-native species. Such introductions very rarely end well.
For a little enlightenment on apex predators in the modern world -

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/society/japan-casualties-record/

 

[Leec6.5]

I do suspect a hint of sarcasm here, but I do think it would be enlightening to know just how many of those 37500 are currently active UK deer stalkers.

15-20% ish IF

 

[Mr Tree]

15-20% ish IF

Sarcasm? maybe a touch of humour. Nothing but praise for those good folks who work tirelessly to drag those huge beasts off inhospitable terrain. Fortunately for me as I lowland farmer, it is a relatively easy job but one I enjoy doing, & my freezers all full of delicious free meat.

 

[Leec6.5]

Sarcasm? maybe a touch of humour. Nothing but praise for those good folks who work tirelessly to drag those huge beasts off inhospitable terrain. Fortunately for me as I lowland farmer, it is a relatively easy job but one I enjoy doing, & my freezers all full of delicious free meat.

No, I honestly think that’s a true figure, a lot of people want to do. There’s also a lot of people who dream there are a few who try and there are those who actually do get their tits in the sink and get on with it.

Of those who would want to do, would absolutely a brick I you dropped 6 lowland reds in a field of beet, then there are those who would call you a stupid tw@t, have a laugh and joke, pour a brew from a blood stained flask, stoke up a roll up and then say we best get on with it!

And that is why I don’t train or mentor anyone, why/ what if and can’t do is not an opinion, neither is bad weather, quad won’t start or a general bad start to the day.

It’s tits,sink and crack on regardless

To add-

There is a tribe of women who you call me much worse take the **** and then get on with it

 

[Donkey Basher]

I do suspect a hint of sarcasm here, but I do think it would be enlightening to know just how many of those 37500 are currently active UK deer stalkers.

Time for a poll then…

Q1 - do you actively stalk in the UK?
A1 - Yes / No
Q2 - how many deer do you typically shoot in a 12 month period?
A2 - 1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-100
101-150
150+

 

[VSS]

Time for a poll then…

Q1 - do you actively stalk in the UK?
A1 - Yes / No
Q2 - how many deer do you typically shoot in a 12 month period?
A2 - 1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-100
101-150
150+

Been done recently:

D

Thread 'How many deer do you shoot in a season'

Nov 27, 2025

I’ve had a slow start to this season with holidays, kids birthday and work related toil, plus a lot of poaching has meant we are leaving certain areas as numbers are low. Finally getting back into numbers in a few new areas though and hoping to reach 30 or so by the end of the season.

I know of local guys shooting 60 or so a year, but they don’t have 9-5 jobs so get out a bit more.

I wondered what the average is here?

• dryan
• Replies: 143
• Forum: Deer Stalking General

 

[Mr Tree]

I was recently in Holland and they have shot the first Wolf that was causing problems. A dog or two killed and I believe it had bitten a child and had begun to become a threat to other people in an area where families enjoyed the outdoors. The problem now is the Wolf lovers are in uproar wanting to know if is the right one. I would love to see wolves but I think it would never be a practical solution to our so called deer problems. Same hunting trip i went to Germany after Boar with Dutch friends and they all were saying the Wolf population is exploding in Europe and causing huge problems

Wolves would take the easiest most freely available food source first. It certainly isn't deer. Unless they're the white fluffy ones.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Poll very likely to be skewed by those not wishing to solicit the attention of HMRC.

K

 

[Leec6.5]

Poll very likely to be skewed by those not wishing to solicit the attention of HMRC.

K

There is an easy way around that

 

[Donkey Basher]

Been done recently:

D

Thread 'How many deer do you shoot in a season'

Nov 27, 2025

I’ve had a slow start to this season with holidays, kids birthday and work related toil, plus a lot of poaching has meant we are leaving certain areas as numbers are low. Finally getting back into numbers in a few new areas though and hoping to reach 30 or so by the end of the season.

I know of local guys shooting 60 or so a year, but they don’t have 9-5 jobs so get out a bit more.

I wondered what the average is here?

• dryan
• Replies: 143
• Forum: Deer Stalking General

No poll on that one as far as I’m aware?

 

[VSS]

No poll on that one as far as I’m aware?

No, you're right. I had thought there was. My mistake.

 

[ABL]

In the five centuries or so of absence, the human population has exploded (approx +60million), land use has changed, the physical environment has been almost totally transformed. Under those conditions, it would not be a re-introduction, but the introduction of what is now a non-native species. Such introductions very rarely end well.
For a little enlightenment on apex predators in the modern world -

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/society/japan-casualties-record/

But do you think the natural world is going to continue to provide humans with all the things we need, and do so safely, without any atte tion to systems? We can just take out pieces of the systems that cause us some issue and assume what remains will just go on ad finitum meeting whatever we need from it? I could be completely wrong, but that feels like a very short sighted and optimistic view point.
Predators, like natural processes in flood plains, aren't single issue matters, they are part of what makes a system work. Red kites are back across lowland England, not because they were just reintroduced, but because decades long practise of random poisoning for pest control was ending. The benefits to wildlife have been huge - the red kite is just one small aspect to it. I suspect that karhe mamal predators would bring much the same.
Anyway, I digress. The point I was really trying to make in my earlier comment was around having an open mind and being willing to work with other sectors, approaches and viewpoints. Its no surprise on a shooting forum that the popular view is that shooting is the only answer. But other groups in society would come to very different conclusions. And we are a minority group. If we assume everyone else is just plain wrong we are storing up big problems for ourselves and the ways of life we care about.

 

[ABL]

In the five centuries or so of absence, the human population has exploded (approx +60million), land use has changed, the physical environment has been almost totally transformed. Under those conditions, it would not be a re-introduction, but the introduction of what is now a non-native species. Such introductions very rarely end well.
For a little enlightenment on apex predators in the modern world -

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/society/japan-casualties-record/

But do you think the natural world is going to continue to provide humans with all the things we need, and do so safely, without any atte tion to systems? We can just take out pieces of the systems that cause us some issue and assume what remains will just go on ad finitum meeting whatever we need from it? I could be completely wrong, but that feels like a very short sighted and optimistic view point.
Predators, like natural processes in flood plains, aren't single issue matters, they are part of what makes a system work. Red kites are back across lowland England, not because they were just reintroduced, but because decades long practise of random poisoning for pest control was ending. The benefits to wildlife have been huge - the red kite is just one small aspect to it. I suspect that karhe mamal predators would bring much the same.
Anyway, I digress. The point I was really trying to make in my earlier comment was around having an open mind and being willing to work with other sectors, approaches and viewpoints. Its no surprise on a shooting forum that the popular view is that shooting is the only answer. But other groups in society would come to very different conclusions. And we are a minority group. If we assume everyone else is just plain wrong we are storing up big problems for ourselves and the ways of life we care about.