I'm following this sort of discourse with particular interest, being a new stalker, with an FAC application pending, and no land of my own to stalk on yet. Even so, with the land I have been stalking on with my mentor, it's clear that there is a lot of deer. Easy to count in the 100's over the course of a day of roe & CWD alone. I'm willing to do my part closer to home, I just hope local landowners/farmers are also willing to play ball.
It seems there's a not inconsequential amount of gate-keeping of stalking permissions, and the data I see suggests there needs to be a significant change here with collaboration between landowners, farmers, stalkers and at least something that resembles a pathway in for new stalkers. It's not the most straightforward thing to get into, especially if you are completely new to it.