Do you think that new stalkers to the sport should be mentored at least a year before they go out on there own or have at least level 1 dsc. I say this because of a conversation I was having with some one the other day which led to me thinking that any one can get a firearms and go out and shoot deer even if they don't no what they are doing.
I would be most interested to know the identity of those Constabularies or Police Forces whose Chief Officers grant firearms authorities to "any one" "even if they don't know what they are doing".
Without being rude if the person you were in conversation really thinks that is the casethey are very naive as to how the licensing system works in the UK. I would even suggest that they, in fact, don't have either an FAC or if they do, not for any form of shooting deer.
To address your question. No absolutely not. Why?
Because the situation in UK is very different form either Europe or the USA in that there are no "public hunting lands" here as there are there.
So to demonstrate "good reason" to have an FAC to stalk deer you have to either:
i) Own or rent your own "forest" and/or the stalking rights or
ii) "Pay by the day" on someone else's land.
In the case of i) it would usually if "new ground" be assessed by the police as to its suitability and in the case of ii) the person from whom you had bought the day would usually insist that you be accompanied if they had any doubt as to you abilities. Indeed even to the extent of directing you as to whichspecific beast to shoot.
A lot of the whole DSC thing is "empire building" and those who seek to suggest it should be imposed as a mandatory requirement to be granted an FAC should be ashamed. Much of it is also totally pointless to many of those who stalk deer only in a set locality.
As an example what is the relevance of knowing about muntjac when all that the stalker ever encounters or shoots are roe deer in Scotland? As an analogy would you suggest that the dedicated pigeon shooter should know about the life cycle of the woodcock or its legal seasons?
Equally testing a person on their knowledge of sika deer is relevant in exactly what way to someone who only ever will require their rifle to shoot a park herd of fallow deer in Lincolnshire?
And how can ignorance of the legal seasonfor roe deer in Scotland be a justification for denying a Welsh roe deer stalker an FAC? How many "guns" who maybe shoot inland reared mallard on one drive on a Northamptonshire pheasant shoot would be able to tell you the legal season for wild mallard on the foreshore?
Yet that is just how the dictat of "No DSC = No FAC" would no doubt apply if translated to feathered game shooting. Refusing a firearms authority to a safe and competent shot because they fail an arbitrary test demanding they know all about a quarry that they will NEVER enciunter on "their patch" let alone ever even want to shoot?
To my mind a lot of DSC 1 seems to be asking questions that are also totally irrelevant to the matter it purports to establish knowledge of which is deer stalking. Almost an "Aren't I clever because I know all this about sika deer?" sort of thing. They might be interesting but they are nevertheless irrelevant.
If you personally want to do it then fine. But don't ever please seek to suggest that because you have it others must also have it.
There is too much of this "Nobody else should be allowed to do anything other than in the way that I do it and then only in the way that I say they should".
So. For UK? No I don't think it should be required in fact I would and do strongly oppose it.
In France and or Germany? Well they do have a compulsory hunting licence. But answer me this...how many fatalities do they have each year in the hunting (shooting) field compared to us (with no compulsory test) in UK?
Now tell me that their way of regulating their system "works" better on the continent than does our system here!