I so far have managed not to get myself involved in any of the DSC/Training debates but am going to try and give it a go objectively before promptly donning a tin helmet.....
Any self regulating body easy to blame and is likely to fall foul of something at some point. When it does, it takes any responsibility or fault away from the government/home office who ultimately are in charge of licensing issues an invoking further restrictions.
The government are never likely to make firearms legislation more ..... 'moderate' may be a suitable word, infact, the Scottish government in particular has never hidden the fact they wan to reduce the number of legally held firearms.
If there is to be 'compulsory training' then why should it not follow the same format as say, the German 'jagdschein' or similar, which would also act as your firearms certificate and cover you for ALL forms stalking/game shooting as opposed to being species specific and not restrict the amount of firearms held.
If the government did this then they would have to lay down exactly what they deem as 'suitable training', putting the onus on them. Their immediate thought would be to think about possible litigation. The thing is that if this happened they would have a vested interest as they would have to provide suitable training establishments, that could be good - ranges/access to facilities they may have to build?!
They, and this is the difficult part, would HAVE to make it affordable and accessible for all - they won't, the countries skint and by doing this they would be seen as supporting shooting - a minority sport (shame it's not a religion, we'd be sorted
).
Now, I know some people might be thinking that I'm mental but please consider this and read on as my point will become clear later.
So it leaves us in the current position where they make noise and everyone 'self regulates' in panic until the next idea they can think of to put barriers in the way of stalking and shooting in general.
I fully agree that if you want to sell venison you should do the meat hygiene course as this then puts you into a regulated industry and this has obviously been agreed as the minimum standard. If your on your own ground and eating the venison yourself and don't know when something's not right it's only you that will suffer!
Putting the stalking/shooting bit/firearms safety aside (as this is just a minefield and you should have experience to get a certificate eh?? I know, I know!!), getting trained by someone who knows what they are doing in relation to gralloching and dressing is the most important part for newcomers.
The DSC is good and has to be done in stages to avoid the chicken and egg however I always feel that it's made out to be some sort of 'Holy grail' which it isn't. Lets be honest, if you know what your doing (debatable in my case
!) and go as per 'best practice' guide you won't go far wrong.
That said I did learn lots on the DSC and have better knowledge because of it and think there will always be new knowledge out there to be gained in the fascinating sport we are all so passionate about.
Before anyone starts I am not devaluing the DSC but think that too much emphasis is placed on it to newcomers which is detrimental to the sport/industry (unless your making money off it
- no offence to anyone as business/profit isn't a dirty word and people have to make a living, see next paragraph).
On the cost side I think if you had paid for any courses to do with any industry it is really quite reasonable, I mean think how much it would cost to do a electrical testing or chainsaw course, whatever - peoples time/facilities cost money.
To people who DO have the DSC, how would you feel if you had done something for years but then to continue you would have to do a course i.e. the 'jagdschein' or similar earlier mentioned, covering all species of game to retain your certificate? Of course there will be the people who say "it wouldn't bother me", but the reality is that it would and that's what causes so much debate every time the topic comes up on forum.
That gentlemen is the point of this long winded rubbish I've written, the fact is that people don't like the goal posts being changed and 'forced' to do something, its not really us is it, oh and the home office/government hasn't really helped us up till now.
I had always put off doing it, but am proud with myself that I successfully finally did the DSC 1+2 (I was nervous but in a good way) recently and have to admit that I did so mainly because of the 'fear' of it becoming compulsory in Scotland so am hypocritical in that point.
However, FC leases etc aside, if you shoot maybe a few deer a year the truth is it really isn't worth it unless it's forced on you or you want to increase your knowledge and be tested on it which isn't for everyone.
That's just my opinion and I'll get the popcorn and standby for the incoming!!
