David Barker
Well-Known Member
1/ Night vision equipment.
The SGA has significant animal welfare and safety concerns regarding the use of
thermal imaging scopes for culling deer.
With this in mind, should it be decided that the technology is legalised for shooting at
night, it should be licensed, with mandatory training. A minimum standard of
equipment should also be classified for use. Currently, there are a range of units
available on the market offering a very wide differentiation in quality.
The use of two units will also require to be made mandatory (one for locating deer and
one for shooting). It is presently against best practice for deer managers to use a rifle
scope to spot deer as this would mean pointing a rifle in order to locate deer. This is
rightly regarded as a danger to public safety. An additional element to be considered
is the cost of 2 units. In order to be in possession of the type of equipment required for
safe shooting, this is likely to mean an investment of a minimum of £10 000 which
may be beyond peoples’ budgets. We must ensure that, for reasons of cost, people
are not being tempted to cut corners, when the objective is safe shooting and
promoting high welfare standards in Scotland.
Changes would also have to be made to Best Practice and the Fit and Competent test
for Night Shooting Authorisations because of the attendant welfare implications.
Training would have to encompass critical safety issues such as back stops. What is a
safe back stop in a woodland environment? It may be very difficult to find a safe back
stop at night using thermal imaging.
This could have major implications for public safety, particularly if non-lead
ammunition such as copper (greater ricochet potential, see 2 below) is being used as
standard.
Similarly, objects such as twigs, branches and foreground bracken represent a major
hazard, potentially causing unpredictable deflections. This may lead to wounding of an
animal or an animal not being followed up, as well as safety issues. We have heard
from individuals who were involved in FLS testing of thermal equipment who, for this
reason, advocate a survey of the area in daytime, before a thermal scope be used in
the same area at night.
There are other animal welfare implications in that it is very difficult, in darkness, to
match up females with dependent young and this may lead to calves being orphaned
and greater risk of youngsters starving to death, particularly with forestry culls now
happening in the first week of September. The SGA is not supportive of moves which
would lead to night shooting becoming the norm in Scotland.
The Impact of Different Culling Methods on Physiological and Physical Carcass
Variables of RED Deer RP58b: was carried out by The Royal Dick School of Veterinary
Studies. In the summary, the authors state: Culling of wild red deer with a rifle by one
stalker during the day and the culling by rifle of deer in a field were the most accurate.
The culling by rifle at night by one stalker was the least accurate in achieving
placement of a shot likely to have quickly killed the deer. It also states: The highest
percentage of deer that after the first shot, ran or walked away without collapsing,
were in wild deer shot by rifle at night by one stalker.
Night shooting, therefore, is a method proven under test conditions to be the least in
the interest of animal welfare, which requires quick, humane dispatch, hence the SGA
being opposed to the normalisation of night shooting.
Selecting the appropriate cull animal is also compromised and this will have long term
impacts on the overall quality and health of the herd.
2/
The SGA does not have an issue with amending the bullet weight, per se, but a
significant portion of our members cite drawbacks from the use of so-called ‘non-toxic'
ammunition, which we feel are important and must be considered with any change.
We also have one comment on the propensity for 80g bullets to drift in the wind and
wonder if this has been factored in. Even those using 100g bullets have reported
experiencing considerable drifting, particularly when shooting over gullies in a strong
wind.
In terms of copper bullets, consensus amongst professional stalkers within the SGA
Deer Group is that the chances of ricochet increases with copper, which has obvious
safety implications. This carries even greater significance at night, when copper may
be used in combination with thermal scopes, coupled with a reduced ability to identify
a safe back stop. Some who have tested various makes of copper bullets have told us
that certain makes were heard to ricochet far more than others, which is concerning.
Given high access, at all times of day, in built-up areas, in particular, the danger to
public safety cannot be discounted.
In open hill situations,
stags may be culled on scree faces and a copper bullet that
passes through a carcass without hitting bone, may well ricochet off a stone and travel
a distance, which is then out of the deer manager’s control. The bullet may even
rebound back towards them. Experienced stalkers have also heard of copper ricochet
off bone, striking another animal in the herd. Use of copper in a woodland setting is
very different than in an open hill setting, where deer tend to be further away and
issues such as stability, drifting and reduced expansion could all be to the detriment of
a quick, humane kill.
Similarly, the limited expansion and shocking power of non-toxic ammunition,
compared to lead, means shot animals behave very differently which sometimes
makes it more difficult to ascertain initially whether an animal has been hit. Animals
shot with copper tend to require more follow-up shots, in general, which has welfare
implications when the objective is to shoot deer as quickly and humanely as possible.
The SGA has significant reservations, therefore, with lead alternatives at the present
time, and what it means for animal welfare and public safety.
3/ The SGA opposes ending the male seasons for a number of reasons. Firstly, as a
regulator, NatureScot currently has oversight on authorisations granted for culling
males outside of the season.
This is helpful, provides data on their use and conditions can be attached in certain
circumstances, which can be beneficial. We see no compelling reason for a regulator to
dispense with that beneficial oversight.
Secondly, the SGA is unconvinced that targeting males all year round will reduce deer
numbers. Conversely, we believe it may increase numbers because more effort will be
put into shooting the easier Stags when it is the females that drive the population.
Without a closed season, it may increase demand for Stags, too, as people extend
their shooting seasons.
While we welcome the fact that female seasons are not currently being subject to
secondary legislation, there remain animal welfare issues if males are to be shot year
round.
The SGA has significant animal welfare and safety concerns regarding the use of
thermal imaging scopes for culling deer.
With this in mind, should it be decided that the technology is legalised for shooting at
night, it should be licensed, with mandatory training. A minimum standard of
equipment should also be classified for use. Currently, there are a range of units
available on the market offering a very wide differentiation in quality.
The use of two units will also require to be made mandatory (one for locating deer and
one for shooting). It is presently against best practice for deer managers to use a rifle
scope to spot deer as this would mean pointing a rifle in order to locate deer. This is
rightly regarded as a danger to public safety. An additional element to be considered
is the cost of 2 units. In order to be in possession of the type of equipment required for
safe shooting, this is likely to mean an investment of a minimum of £10 000 which
may be beyond peoples’ budgets. We must ensure that, for reasons of cost, people
are not being tempted to cut corners, when the objective is safe shooting and
promoting high welfare standards in Scotland.
Changes would also have to be made to Best Practice and the Fit and Competent test
for Night Shooting Authorisations because of the attendant welfare implications.
Training would have to encompass critical safety issues such as back stops. What is a
safe back stop in a woodland environment? It may be very difficult to find a safe back
stop at night using thermal imaging.
This could have major implications for public safety, particularly if non-lead
ammunition such as copper (greater ricochet potential, see 2 below) is being used as
standard.
Similarly, objects such as twigs, branches and foreground bracken represent a major
hazard, potentially causing unpredictable deflections. This may lead to wounding of an
animal or an animal not being followed up, as well as safety issues. We have heard
from individuals who were involved in FLS testing of thermal equipment who, for this
reason, advocate a survey of the area in daytime, before a thermal scope be used in
the same area at night.
There are other animal welfare implications in that it is very difficult, in darkness, to
match up females with dependent young and this may lead to calves being orphaned
and greater risk of youngsters starving to death, particularly with forestry culls now
happening in the first week of September. The SGA is not supportive of moves which
would lead to night shooting becoming the norm in Scotland.
The Impact of Different Culling Methods on Physiological and Physical Carcass
Variables of RED Deer RP58b: was carried out by The Royal Dick School of Veterinary
Studies. In the summary, the authors state: Culling of wild red deer with a rifle by one
stalker during the day and the culling by rifle of deer in a field were the most accurate.
The culling by rifle at night by one stalker was the least accurate in achieving
placement of a shot likely to have quickly killed the deer. It also states: The highest
percentage of deer that after the first shot, ran or walked away without collapsing,
were in wild deer shot by rifle at night by one stalker.
Night shooting, therefore, is a method proven under test conditions to be the least in
the interest of animal welfare, which requires quick, humane dispatch, hence the SGA
being opposed to the normalisation of night shooting.
Selecting the appropriate cull animal is also compromised and this will have long term
impacts on the overall quality and health of the herd.
2/
The SGA does not have an issue with amending the bullet weight, per se, but a
significant portion of our members cite drawbacks from the use of so-called ‘non-toxic'
ammunition, which we feel are important and must be considered with any change.
We also have one comment on the propensity for 80g bullets to drift in the wind and
wonder if this has been factored in. Even those using 100g bullets have reported
experiencing considerable drifting, particularly when shooting over gullies in a strong
wind.
In terms of copper bullets, consensus amongst professional stalkers within the SGA
Deer Group is that the chances of ricochet increases with copper, which has obvious
safety implications. This carries even greater significance at night, when copper may
be used in combination with thermal scopes, coupled with a reduced ability to identify
a safe back stop. Some who have tested various makes of copper bullets have told us
that certain makes were heard to ricochet far more than others, which is concerning.
Given high access, at all times of day, in built-up areas, in particular, the danger to
public safety cannot be discounted.
In open hill situations,
stags may be culled on scree faces and a copper bullet that
passes through a carcass without hitting bone, may well ricochet off a stone and travel
a distance, which is then out of the deer manager’s control. The bullet may even
rebound back towards them. Experienced stalkers have also heard of copper ricochet
off bone, striking another animal in the herd. Use of copper in a woodland setting is
very different than in an open hill setting, where deer tend to be further away and
issues such as stability, drifting and reduced expansion could all be to the detriment of
a quick, humane kill.
Similarly, the limited expansion and shocking power of non-toxic ammunition,
compared to lead, means shot animals behave very differently which sometimes
makes it more difficult to ascertain initially whether an animal has been hit. Animals
shot with copper tend to require more follow-up shots, in general, which has welfare
implications when the objective is to shoot deer as quickly and humanely as possible.
The SGA has significant reservations, therefore, with lead alternatives at the present
time, and what it means for animal welfare and public safety.
3/ The SGA opposes ending the male seasons for a number of reasons. Firstly, as a
regulator, NatureScot currently has oversight on authorisations granted for culling
males outside of the season.
This is helpful, provides data on their use and conditions can be attached in certain
circumstances, which can be beneficial. We see no compelling reason for a regulator to
dispense with that beneficial oversight.
Secondly, the SGA is unconvinced that targeting males all year round will reduce deer
numbers. Conversely, we believe it may increase numbers because more effort will be
put into shooting the easier Stags when it is the females that drive the population.
Without a closed season, it may increase demand for Stags, too, as people extend
their shooting seasons.
While we welcome the fact that female seasons are not currently being subject to
secondary legislation, there remain animal welfare issues if males are to be shot year
round.
