oneeyedanddeaf
New Member
Can I start by quoting from a government debate:
Sir Charles Walker MP for Broxbourne said in a February debate in 2023 on the future of deer management in the UK that:
‘At around 2 million animals, the UK’s deer population is estimated to stand now at its highest level for 1,000 years; there are more deer now than when William the Conqueror arrived. Our immense national herd keeps on growing. To put that in context, to keep it stable at 2 million, we would need to cull between 500,000 and 750,000 deer each year—that is just to keep things stable. At present, however, we are culling only about 350,000 animals, so each year the national herd keeps growing, and more trees and crops are nibbled away. We always say in this place, “Something needs to be done” but clearly it does need to be done in this case.’
During the winter nights I wrote a long paper (3000 words) setting out what I think is at the heart of the 'deer issue'. No one was remotely interested in publishing the paper. Following the publication of the DEFRA/government strategy paper in February I tried pitching the article again - with precisely the same result - no one wants to know or hear about the scale of the problem. My conclusion is that 'the powers that be 'are scared witless' by the numbers - they are terrified that the public will simply not understand/tolerate the fact that in order to protect the environment successfully it will be necessary to shoot hundreds of thousands of deer on an annual and ongoing basis. The 2003 debate I quoted indicates that the government knows the scale of the problem. The February strategy paper will help (night shooting will be beneficial) BUT to tackle the scale of the problem much bolder approaches are needed. I am close to Kielder where the rangers do great work culling 3000 deer annually and the head man there has said 'it's not enough'.
I don't like the term 'recreational stalker', because it sounds like we are doing it solely for fun. Yes, I and many like me enjoy it - however most are serious and committed to carrying out the job professionally. Unfortunately we 'rec's' cannot even begin to tackle the numbers required. Maths was never my strong suit but I calculated when writing my article that in order to make a difference a cohort of 1200 full time, fully paid stalkers would be needed to work annually for at least three generations in order for a balance (whatever the hell that means) to be achieved. I have great sympathy with the guy who responded to the 2022 consultation saying that he had shot 374 deer during the last year and he didn't think it had made any difference. The scale of the issue is MASSIVE and we do ourselves no good in pretending otherwise. We live in an age of fact checking - the facts are out there, we don't need a ten year strategy to ascertain numbers and which deer are causing the most damage and where etc etc - WE NEED ACTION.
Coming to the end of a 50 year stalking life will I apply to renew my firearms certificate when it expires in 2027? or will I ride off into the sunset. What I do know is that I look forward to hearing what the directory thinks about what I have said.
Sir Charles Walker MP for Broxbourne said in a February debate in 2023 on the future of deer management in the UK that:
‘At around 2 million animals, the UK’s deer population is estimated to stand now at its highest level for 1,000 years; there are more deer now than when William the Conqueror arrived. Our immense national herd keeps on growing. To put that in context, to keep it stable at 2 million, we would need to cull between 500,000 and 750,000 deer each year—that is just to keep things stable. At present, however, we are culling only about 350,000 animals, so each year the national herd keeps growing, and more trees and crops are nibbled away. We always say in this place, “Something needs to be done” but clearly it does need to be done in this case.’
During the winter nights I wrote a long paper (3000 words) setting out what I think is at the heart of the 'deer issue'. No one was remotely interested in publishing the paper. Following the publication of the DEFRA/government strategy paper in February I tried pitching the article again - with precisely the same result - no one wants to know or hear about the scale of the problem. My conclusion is that 'the powers that be 'are scared witless' by the numbers - they are terrified that the public will simply not understand/tolerate the fact that in order to protect the environment successfully it will be necessary to shoot hundreds of thousands of deer on an annual and ongoing basis. The 2003 debate I quoted indicates that the government knows the scale of the problem. The February strategy paper will help (night shooting will be beneficial) BUT to tackle the scale of the problem much bolder approaches are needed. I am close to Kielder where the rangers do great work culling 3000 deer annually and the head man there has said 'it's not enough'.
I don't like the term 'recreational stalker', because it sounds like we are doing it solely for fun. Yes, I and many like me enjoy it - however most are serious and committed to carrying out the job professionally. Unfortunately we 'rec's' cannot even begin to tackle the numbers required. Maths was never my strong suit but I calculated when writing my article that in order to make a difference a cohort of 1200 full time, fully paid stalkers would be needed to work annually for at least three generations in order for a balance (whatever the hell that means) to be achieved. I have great sympathy with the guy who responded to the 2022 consultation saying that he had shot 374 deer during the last year and he didn't think it had made any difference. The scale of the issue is MASSIVE and we do ourselves no good in pretending otherwise. We live in an age of fact checking - the facts are out there, we don't need a ten year strategy to ascertain numbers and which deer are causing the most damage and where etc etc - WE NEED ACTION.
Coming to the end of a 50 year stalking life will I apply to renew my firearms certificate when it expires in 2027? or will I ride off into the sunset. What I do know is that I look forward to hearing what the directory thinks about what I have said.
