-14 and loving it!

Paul at Fechan

Well-Known Member
I hate the cold but I hate the wet even more. The snow make things interesting though but difficult. Up and around Sutherland the ground right now is really harsh but culling is easy enough. Getting beasts off the ground is a nightmare and game dealers are finding it hard to pick up. I thought for those of you who only have a couple of inches down south :oops: of snow I'd share how wild it is up there.

I'd like to know how other people are finding their areas right now, cheers!

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Im in Sutherland, too and have stopped stalking hinds, even with guests. As far as Im concerned there is a genuine welfare issue with stalking deer in this kind of terrain under these conditions. The flat Sutherland and Caithness hills make for hard ground under these conditions, with very little or no access to shelter or feeding in some areas for deer. As can be seen in the photos the deer are having to expend valuable energy digging/scraping just to find a small morsel to keep them going.

Of course the situation is different if the deer can get access to trees or lower, clearer ground. Whilst it suits the places that have a lot of deer to 'kill' I'll be leaving mine quiet until they can get some access to decent feeding again.

Interestingly I have been thinking over the last two or three days that whilst everybody quite readily accepts the ban on shooting wildfowl and waders in the hard weather, people seem quite happy to shoot deer that are having a hard time and probably make things worse by moving deer from what little sanctuary/feeding they may be getting.
 
I agree with traveller.

There has to be a point where culling under these harsh conditions are questionable.

Though if I were to come across a sick deer I would have no hesitation dispatching it.

I have been doing the opposite, I have provided fresh hay and 4 bags of corn this week to the bit of land I own so as to feed the deer. It has the benefit of retaining them as they find a source of food and also allows you to see what number of deer are traversing your land. The roe and some reds are already feeding off of it.

These are exceptional conditions for all wildlife and we as guardians of the countryside should show that, although we are active in our culls for "deer Managment" we are also guardians of welfare and this is foremost in whatever culling activities we do.

My pennies worth. and certainly not a criticism of others. It's just that morally, it's not for me.

Colin.[/quote]
 
Hi guys,I'm to just north of inverness on the 18th of jan to help some of the lads there with there cull, well i say were helping them they say were a pain in the arse. :D But on the subject of hard weather and i'm no expert on managing reds . but surely now is the time to be culling weak and poor beasts as they are less likely to survive the harsh weather.And they should on the lower ground where you can get at them. whats your opinion?
cheers sean
 
Good points about welfare and I agree that leaving them alone is the right thing to do in these severe conditions but ideally we can also take advantage of the conditions to select the lesser animals that will struggle whatever we do.
 
The snow makes it easier to spot animals that’s for sure plus it will force them to find food and shelter on the lower ground and in woodlands thus concentrating them into smaller areas.
Ironically the area I cover is newly planted/regenerated woodland which also has a fair amount of mature birch and pine forest throughout .The ground is also low lying…….in other words it’s perfect for deer in this weather.
Beast have now made their way onto the scheme and we are now busy trying to catch up with them as once in the area they tend to stay put. I now expect we will shoot many more deer this winter as a result of the snow.

regards
 
finnbear270 said:
Paul I think you may have a touch of snow blindness! :lol: , lots places down here have many feet of snow :eek:

Us boys down South have certainly got more than a couple of inches ill have you know:eek: :lol:

Great photos Paul

Terry
 
Well the ploughed field opposite us is now brown with speckles of white, yesterday it was covered but with the wind and the rain and sleet it's cleared the soil off. Our own field which is lower and slightly protected from the easterly wind by the road which is higher is still white. At most we had a couple of inches so have been lucky as it missed us but there is more to come it seems. It's slightly above freezing right now but once the temp drops again it will be treacherous out as the rain and sleet on the ground freezes over :rolleyes: .

I was watching the Hares running up our field last evening :)
 
I have concerns about culling in extreme weather. While it is acceptable to cull animals in distress, it must be understood that other animals in a herd may expend more energy in running from the disturbance than they can consume in a days grazing in these conditions, and be shifted from the most sheltered areas into less hospitable areas. The hind season is long enough, perhaps it is better to leave them alone untill the weather abates and let all the beasts conserve what reserves they have. Just my opinion, I readily accept there are far more experienced deer managers out there.
 
You're absolutely right LLD but where there is pressure to reduce numbers it one of those guilty situations. The reds on my ground started bark stripping as soon as the first snow fell weeks ago now so I will cull but that's essential to protect my investment.

It's a personal call but I was talking to FC rangers from two areas last week. One chap just up the road from me was leaving them alone but the other was hammering them. They both said pretty much the same thing though in that their target was to ensure less than 10% with their areas within that but the 'bosses' wanted the populations reduced to a minimum even though they were meeting their targets.

Ouch for the deer.
 
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