Tayside Deer Cull?

[Mick9abf]

What frustrates me is that we have Scottish nature saying too many deer but can Qualified ( DSC1) members of the public get easy access to forestry to stalk ?, no way. If more people were encouraged / allowed to stalk on public / semi public land I am sure it would reduce deer number, increase tourism spend, produce health meat etc etc

No it would undoubtedly make the deer completely nocturnal, what you are suggesting would most likely have a negligible impact on numbers I’m afraid.

Aside from the fact there is no ‘semi public’ land in Scotland there is not a chance that the incumbent Scottish Governent would go down the line of a tag system on ‘Government Forestry’; as has been said, potential litigation aside, they really don’t like Joe Bloggs having firearms.

There I’ve said it and will stand by for incoming.

 

[Dhindes]

No it would undoubtedly make the deer completely nocturnal, what you are suggesting would most likely have a negligible impact on numbers I’m afraid.

Aside from the fact there is no ‘semi public’ land in Scotland there is not a chance that the incumbent Scottish Governent would go down the line of a tag system on ‘Government Forestry’; as has been said, potential litigation aside, they really don’t like Joe Bloggs having firearms.

There I’ve said it and will stand by for incoming.

I think you are right. I also think the Scottish Gov thinks private / paying stalkers are all "upper class Victorians" who they would like to stamp out. Shame we do not see deer stalking as a resource for recreation, economic value and healthy meat supply rather than going against Joe Bloggs owning a firearm and shooting - we have good controls on gun ownership and training in place which can show some knowledge of what you are doing.
I agree that this seems more about manage deer but make sure no one has fun or makes money out of it !

 

[countrryboy]

1 important point which u never see mentioned is it's not so much the total deer numbers but more where they are.

Settled on high tops, glen bottoms or constantly being moved by bobble hats.
If no bobble hats an area could sustain a greater deer density if deer settled on lower ground throu he winter ( better grazing and warmer/or exposure) but nowadays deer constantlyntly being moed by bobble has on to the more vulnerable less sustainable higher tops.

Porn ever r an wild animal nowadays just so much disturbance everywhere now, wildlife has no chance

 

[@theroedeerguy]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'green rain'?

I've seen the phrase used quite often recently, and think I can guess, but I'm not sure - can you clarify?

Re. the Assynt saga - oh yes, I know parts of it. The Ardvar Woodlands bit is pretty hilarious, from a safe distance...

Green rain refers to 1080 poison used in abundance in NZ

 

[sikamalc]

The 'green rain' from NZ would have come to our shores long ago if SNH/NatureScot actually had any teeth and the Scottish Government took a 'hell or high water' approach.

I'm sure you are familiar with the Assynt saga?

Assynt Crofters' Trust - SNH in Assynt

The Assynt Crofters' Trust is the owner of the North Assynt Estate, following a historic community buy out in 1992

www.theassyntcrofters.co.uk

@sikamalc probably has the inside scoop

Its true that I played a major part in the initial first two years after the purchase of the estate. At the time the two main players on the committee were Alister Mckaskill who ran the local butchers shop in Lochinver, who I believe has passed on, and Bill Ritchie. Who is a local crofter.
The historic cull off the ground was 200 head of Reds, with particular emphasis on Stack Polly at the far end of the estate. They did have a local guy doing this area at the time.
The foundation had no money left after the purchase, and the last 500k was donated by the John Muir Trust, I believe. I and my colleagues, a group of 7 semi pro stalkers who I knew, (and were helping with the other estate on the east coast I was managing ) joined them on the day of their completing the purchase and took the committee to dinner at the Inchnadamph hotel.

We managed to take around 182 deer the first year and 186 the second year. They then started to employ more people to manage the estate and I moved back to the estate I was managing at the sametime on the East Coast.

There were no deer within a reasonable distance of the lodge at Lochinver. The Vesties had spent NOTHING on maintaining the lodge. The whole place needed a huge amount of investment. It also needed a skilled and enthusiastic manager to run it, it was a huge task. Further more the whole village was your boss!!

Outstanding estate, with three iconic munroes, especially Sullven. I have many happy memories of stalking on there, but with 44,000 acres to cover it needed some serious money to bring it up to scratch. The only money after the purchase was the venison, and I am proud of the fact that we got every beast we shot, back to the larder, although that was not up to spec either. And believe me, there was some hellish extractions on that place.

The tick burden on there was horrendous, and I cannot ever remember seeing a single Grouse or Ptarmigan on the place whilst there. Sika were at the time just starting to show up on the edge of the estate.

 

[Mungo]

Its true that I played a major part in the initial first two years after the purchase of the estate. At the time the two main players on the committee were Alister Mckaskill who ran the local butchers shop in Lochinver, who I believe has passed on, and Bill Ritchie. Who is a local crofter.
The historic cull off the ground was 200 head of Reds, with particular emphasis on Stack Polly at the far end of the estate. They did have a local guy doing this area at the time.
The foundation had no money left after the purchase, and the last 500k was donated by the John Muir Trust, I believe. I and my colleagues, a group of 7 semi pro stalkers who I knew, (and were helping with the other estate on the east coast I was managing ) joined them on the day of their completing the purchase and took the committee to dinner at the Inchnadamph hotel.

We managed to take around 182 deer the first year and 186 the second year. They then started to employ more people to manage the estate and I moved back to the estate I was managing at the sametime on the East Coast.

There were no deer within a reasonable distance of the lodge at Lochinver. The Vesties had spent NOTHING on maintaining the lodge. The whole place needed a huge amount of investment. It also needed a skilled and enthusiastic manager to run it, it was a huge task. Further more the whole village was your boss!!

Outstanding estate, with three iconic munroes, especially Sullven. I have many happy memories of stalking on there, but with 44,000 acres to cover it needed some serious money to bring it up to scratch. The only money after the purchase was the venison, and I am proud of the fact that we got every beast we shot, back to the larder, although that was not up to spec either. And believe me, there was some hellish extractions on that place.

The tick burden on there was horrendous, and I cannot ever remember seeing a single Grouse or Ptarmigan on the place whilst there. Sika were at the time just starting to show up on the edge of the estate.

The group of stags you often see in the meadow in front of the Inchnadamph hotel in the summer - where do they go during winter?

 

[sikamalc]

Duke of West minsters estate maybe? I wouldnt know. Assynt has some grazing lower down, especially near Leadmore Junction, back of Canisp? But once you get further out its dramatic scenery but pretty barren and little good grazing in places. At least that's how I remember it.