What would you change?

1. 'Bambi' attitudes to deer - they don't speak with American accents, you know ..... :rolleyes:
2. Public attitudes towards eating venison (although people are beginning to see it as delicious, sustainable, healthy & ethical at last) :D
3. The totally unnecessary new laws allowing .22 centrefires for small deer. :evil:
 
Roe Hunter said:
Indirectly linked to our sport, but I would like to see children being taught at primary education level that the meat that they eat started out as either a farm animal reared specifically for food, or a wild animal. Understanding of the meat production cycle, and visit to a livestock farm a compulsory part of the curriculum.

That way, future generations wishing to continue our sport may not suffer from the increasing level of anti's who seem to believe that the pre-packed shoulder of lamb on the shelf at Tesco that they buy for Suinday lunch was never a live animal. Seemingly, like most other convenience foods, it was 'assembled' in a factory somewhere (probably in the far east as we don't have a manufacturing industry any longer in the uk!) - it never walked around on 4 legs!
I have to agree, my 2 1/2 year old knows where all the meat he eats comes from, we are lucky there is a local farm which has it's own buctchers shop, so he can see the pigs in the field and then on the counter. Then winter he see's the pheasants in and around the pen, sat evenings he sees them hung up in the porch ( if his old man has got his eye in ) :lol:and hepls me dress them
its better he knows the link between meat and animals.
Jonathon
 
I totally agree. My children have always been bought up to know what they are eating and they love a hugely varied diet.
I had some pigs when my daughter was 3 and my son was 5. My daughter said to one of the pigs, "I love you and I will still love you when you are dead! " Priceless! They were delicious too!! :lol:
Last year I had bought a lamb for the freezer from the local shepard. When I phoned up to arrange to collect it, his wife said when you come to collect please could you not call it lamb in front of the children. Please just call it meat!" When I questioned her about it she said that they only know all meat as "meat" and have never been told about chicken and lamb etc. The children were probably 6 and 8 and their father was a shepard. Unbelievable!!!
 
I know this is unrealistic and will not be liked by the vast majority but I would impose limitations on where you can acquire stalking rights.

What do I mean?

Well, firstly, I knew of a foreign gent who paid for the stalking rights on a number of estates in Stirlingshire and Perthshire. He was in in 70's and only came to Scotland for a fortnight at the end of July for the roe rut.

He did not allow any bucks to be shot in his absence and it was only when the landowners got complaints about the usual "herds of deer" in the farmers crops in the winter that he told the pheasant shoot keepers to take out a few does to keep the farmers happy.

Secondly, a land manager contacted my stalking partner and asked him to bid for red deer stalking on ground in Perthshire where the deer were doing considerable damage. My mate has had ground from this manager before and the manager knows that the deer damage will be kept to acceptable levels.

Even though he put in what was by the manager's own admission a reasonable bid, the foreign owner took the highest bid from someone in the Midlands.

After the lease was signed an advert then appeared looking for guns to join a syndicate to stalk this ground.

Surprise, surprise, the following year the "syndicate" was kicked off the ground as the deer damage was worse :!:

Yes, I know money counts but how can people carry out effective management of a deer population, crop protection etc on ground which is quite obviously too far away for them to visit on a regular basis?

Nick
 
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