Britain’s biggest wild animal shot dead on Exmoor

[Fisherman Mike]

Something not quite right in all this.....

 

Everybody commenting about the shooting, witnesses to the sound of gun shots, photographers, land owners , onlookers, all wish to remain anonimous...why?

 

If the beast was legally shot whats the problem ? The only thing perhaps the hunter could be called to account for is discharging a firearm within the stipulated exlusion zone from a Public Highway....perhaps thats what he did.

 

Has anyone actually determined the cause of death ? are there any pictures of the gunshot wound ?

 

This Hart could easily have suffered a mortal injury during the rut, wandered off and died by the roadside, .... its not unknown.

 

All seems to be a bit strange to me.

[al4x]

it will be hanging in a chiller now minus its head, no one will know what happened to it, there are no exclusion zones round roads AFAIK unless he was causing nuisance to any road user and however many feet from the centre of the highway

[Frenchieboy]

I don't know if I have missed it but is there anywhere that says or proves that it was actually shot rather than died from any other "injury", and if so by what caliber of rifle?

To be quite honest there are so many differing versions and reports circulating by the various newspapers and media braodcasters I really don't have a clue which report to believe - if any!

[Flashman]

Today's Telegraph has a very good piece by a columnist in The Field:

 

Death of the Exmoor Emperor

The great stag was only the latest victim of misguided regulations that have devastated Exmoor's economy, says Rory Knight Bruce.

 

The giant stag of Southern Exmoor, which weighed more than 300lb and and stood nearly 9ft was killed close to a busy main road in the middle of the annual

 

Who killed the "Emperor of Exmoor"? In the best tradition of that occasional West Country resident Agatha Christie, no body has yet been found. But the strong suspicion is that the stag – thought to be one of Britain's largest wild animals, at 300lb and almost 9ft tall – was shot by trophy hunters for his antlers, which could be valued at anything up to £10,000.

 

For those of us who live, work, farm or hunt on Exmoor, this is a sad day. The stag has long been held as emblematic of the area: it forms the symbol of the National Park, various beers and even the Dulverton laundry. At this time of year, in the rutting season, the low "groick" of their mating call – a noise not unlike a prep school master bellowing from the touchline – rings out across the coombs and dingles of the moor, to the delight of thousands of nature enthusiasts.

 

This latest incident has already promoted the usual condemnation of stalking, hunting and rural life in general. Peter Donnelly, a self-proclaimed deer management expert from Exmoor, has condemned the shooting, if that is what it was, as a disgrace. "If we care about deer," he says, "we should stop all persecution during this time of year."

 

Yet, while no one is delighting in the death of the Emperor, neither should we decry it. Stalking during the autumn is perfectly legal, in Exmoor as in Scotland, in order to keep the red deer population healthy and in check. "The fact is," says Graham Downing, editor of the journal of the British Deer Society, "a person on whose land the red deer has come has a right to kill it, even as a trophy. Clearly it is very sad when a particularly magnificent animal is killed, but it will die some way or another at some time."

 

Downing also says that the sporting thing would have been to choose a lesser or older stag, or a young fighter. But at the age of 12, the Emperor was nearing the end of his fertile days. Deer of that age are prone to TB, broken legs, lungworm or losing teeth, which make it difficult for them to graze. Culling their numbers is not just a kindness, but a necessity, both to keep the red deer population in check and to keep it healthy.

 

As Tim Bonner, political director of the Countryside Alliance, explains: "This stag was probably at a stage where he would be mating with his daughters and grand-daughters, which would significantly reduce the virility and health of the herd." Even in the League Against Cruel Sports' own deer sanctuary at Barons Down, marksmen have had to be called to dispatch sickly and inbred deer due to the absence of organised culling.

 

So, says Bonner: "If this stag has been culled for the right reasons and in the right way, there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, the government and conservation bodies all work together to make sure enough deer are culled to ensure they don't damage fragile habitats and environments."

 

In 1972, a survey of the red deer population on Exmoor concluded that it stood at between 500 and 800. Today that figure would be nearer to 3,000, an indication of the successful deer management programmes that have been in place. But with the population stabilised, the lack of natural predators means that the number of red deer on Exmoor would expand by about 30 per cent a year if they were left to their own devices, causing a massive amount of damage to forests. Bonner points out that the RSPB – not exactly a bloodthirsty body – have killed thousands of deer in Scotland to allow the regeneration of natural woodland.

 

Stalking deer is not just necessary, but makes a valuable contribution to Exmoor's precarious economy. In Scotland, there have been many cases of licensed council stalkers shooting deer, at considerable cost. If sportsmen are willing to pay large sums for the privilege, why not let private enterprise come into play?

 

Here, however, we run into the real problem – a ham-fisted regulatory regime that has seen licensed, humane stalking replaced by freelance operations, of the kind that may have taken the Emperor's life. The hunting ban of 2005 – which devastated Exmoor's economy – restricted its three staghound packs to hunting with only two hounds. For centuries previously, they had taken out full packs of hounds, selecting outlying and older deer which were then dispatched.

 

As the heroine of Lorna Doone says: "To outsiders, we are quite an odd place, and the hunting of stags is a local affair." Those who followed the hounds, as I can personally testify, were largely farmers who wanted to manage the deer population fairly and humanely. Yet the riders who visited to experience the feeling of flying across the majestic moors behind a pack of hounds in full cry provided an immeasurable boost to the rural economy by hiring horses, staying in pubs and using local shops and post offices.

 

These mounted followers used to number perhaps 200 on any given day. Since 2005, however, that trade has all but evaporated. Hotels on Exmoor have been turned into residences for bankers, with hunting enthusiasts heading instead to France. The Exmoor economy, as fragile as a wildlife habitat, now largely relies on big-bag pheasant and partridge shoots, in which visiting guns may barely know which country they are in, let alone which county. Stags have, in several instances, fallen victim to poaching or unregulated stalking, and the Emperor may be a case in point.

 

"This is what happens when hunting with hounds, and particularly the staghounds, has been persecuted by bad law," says Guy Thomas-Everard, a significant Exmoor landowner and vice chairman of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. "With hunting, we have always believed we help in not too many deer being killed. [Without proper regulation] you are likely to get what has happened to this stag on a far larger scale. People quite literally start taking pot-shots."

 

If we are looking for a way to improve the situation, one option would be to copy the Continent – and in particular France, where all deer hunting and shooting in state-owned forests is licensed, bringing millions of pounds to the Exchequer. Once, sitting alongside the local mayor in a coracle on a lake, I was invited to use a sword to dispatch a red deer every bit as large as the Emperor, when the hounds had set him at bay. Was there an outcry? On the contrary – there were 300 cheering spectators, many recording the scene with video cameras.

 

If the Emperor of Exmoor – so named by Richard Austin, the photographer who first captured his likeness – has been taken and sold as a trophy, then Exmoor is a lesser place for it. But this can also be firmly attributed to the way in which the post-ban regulation has undermined the area and its economy. The results have benefited only trophy hunters, one of whom I recently met in Stockholm.

 

Over his life, he told me, he had attempted the "Big Five" in Africa – elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino – but had balked at the last of these. When I asked why, he said it would have cost him £40,000 – as a sportsman, he said, he had rejected the more wildlife-friendly option of having one stunned for an hour and having a prosthetic mask cast, for a reduced sum of £10,000. I hope he has not just added the Emperor to his collection instead.

[the running man]

I don't know if I have missed it but is there anywhere that says or proves that it was actually shot rather than died from any other "injury", and if so by what caliber of rifle?

To be quite honest there are so many differing versions and reports circulating by the various newspapers and media braodcasters I really don't have a clue which report to believe - if any!

Like dekers said yesterday,the media don't care about the truth or about putting shooting in a bad light,just wat makes people listen is the thing to them.

[scolopax]

whatever the rights and wrongs of taking this beast was it is turning into a PR disaster for shooting.

 

I really do question the judgement of the person who took this high profile stag, he had dropped us in the **** and the shooting organisations are now busy fire fighting because someone felt the need for his antlers on their wall.

[Dunkield]

Taken from one of the other posts on the same subject....

 

The shooting is reported to have taken place a fortnight ago. There are no direct witnesses, and no carcase. The line about it being "Britain's largest wild animal" is also patent nonsense. The story was sucked up and swallowed hook, line and sinker by the media, presumably based on the fact that photos were available to buy. Below is a BASC statement, which can also be seen on our website:

 

BASC statement on the Exmoor deer.

 

BASC has been dealing with enquiries for the past 24 hours. Our position is as follows:

 

*The death of an iconic animal always gives a moment for reflection however the Exmoor stag was not the largest wild animal in Britain. The average weight of a red stag in the woods in lowland Britain is 400 lbs. In some areas they can reach 600lbs plus.

 

*BASC supports sound deer management plans which take into account the size and fitness of the deer herd in relation to the nature of the ground they occupy.

 

*It is unclear whether the Exmoor stag was shot as part of an overall deer management plan however he had reached a good age and may simply have become too big and too old for the area which he occupied.

 

*As long as the shooting was done in line with such a management plan then it is not out of the ordinary and would have been carried out for the good of the herd.

 

In the past 24 hours, BASC has dealt with a number of news outlets.

 

South West regional director Jamie Stewart was on the BBC’s 6 O’Clock and 10 O’Clock news and BBC News 24. A clip can be seen, about 22 minutes in, here

 

Gamekeeping officer Glynn Evans spoke to The Guardian. His piece can be read here

 

We have also spoken to The Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio, BBC Scotland and the Western Morning News.

 

 

Simon Clarke

Head of Press

BASC

simon.clarke@basc.org.uk

[garjo]

*It is unclear whether the Exmoor stag was shot as part of an overall deer management plan however he had reached a good age and may simply have become too big and too old for the area which he occupied

 

If its unclear then this would indicate it wasn't as far as I`m aware no-one has come forward to say it was. Sorry I think this was wrong and does nothing to add to the value of the sport but there again I`m a newbie so what do I know.

[J@mes]

even if it was shot in accordance with a management plan I bet whoever did it is not going to own up - they may have been in the right, acting lawfully and correctly too. but the ****-storm it has kicked up would put anyone off owning up to it!

[juby trap]

whatever the rights and wrongs of taking this beast was it is turning into a PR disaster for shooting.

 

I really do question the judgement of the person who took this high profile stag, he had dropped us in the **** and the shooting organisations are now busy fire fighting because someone felt the need for his antlers on their wall.

correct.....

[al4x]

correct.....

 

maybe maybe not, someone shot a stag, was it the wrong one or not though. Fundamentally the only problem was they got spotted doing it

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8090993/M...y-be-alive.html

[Devon Fox]

Was meant to have been shot close to one of my best permissions (Rackenford).

 

Locals think it might just be a big wind up by the antis & there is no evidence of the stag being culled.

[Dunkield]

The whole thng has been farce from start to finish, with stalkers having to justify themselves, what a load of old cobblers..

 

So initilally 'the body was found next the main road' now 'the body was never found' you coudn't make it up, but someone is....

 

As for Rackenford, I am sure we have ended up in the social club there before now, isn't there a Black Cock down that way as well? seems to ring a bell as another lost afternoon venue

[Devon Fox]

You could be thinking of the Black Dog?

 

It truly is red neck country!

[Frenchieboy]

I've just read the article from "The Telegraph" and I see that Johnny Kingdon is clearly reported to have said "I know for sure he's a gonner"! OK Johnny, if you are so sure offer some proof, especially as there are reports that the stag has been seen since then in someone elses garden, or is this Johnny Kingdom just trying to cash in on the act? Either someone is lying (Inevitable with the press) or The Emperors ghost hasn't wasted any time in making an appearance!

Personally I think it is all a wind up, especially as there has not been the slightest bit of proof in the form of anyone who says they saw the carcass being loaded willing to give their name (If they were not doing anything illegal then they have nothing to hide) or a photograph of the carcass or the head and antlers. Everyone (Especially the "ANTIS") are now trying to get a piece of the action from this utter tripe printed by these science fiction writers!

 

p.s. I've just been out and shot the Beast Of Bacup (Well it was really just a young rabbit but in the interest of a good story it was over 4 foot high and wore a top hat and waist coat with a pocket watch but unfortunately my dog ate it before I could photograph it) If any newspapers want another "Special" or "Exclusive" new story to milk they can contact me and tell me how much they will pay for an interview!

[Dunkield]

You could be thinking of the Black Dog?

 

It truly is red neck country!

Indeed more like the wild west at times

OK so I was bit out with the geography, the Black Cock is over at Molland, proper shooters pub for obvious reasons.

We spoofed for who was buying the next round , it went on for what seemed like hours, the poor sod who lost had to buy every one in the place a drink, of course by then the locals 'who only ever drink vintage port' etc had joined the queue - happy days...

[Devon Fox]

Indeed more like the wild west at times

OK so I was bit out with the geography, the Black Cock is over at Molland, proper shooters pub for obvious reasons.

We spoofed for who was buying the next round , it went on for what seemed like hours, the poor sod who lost had to buy every one in the place a drink, of course by then the locals 'who only ever drink vintage port' etc had joined the queue - happy days...

 

 

Really lucky here - prime shooting country and I am pretty central to it all

 

The locals are a different breed - always give mates a hard time about not being able to wear flip flops due to webbed toes etc!

 

Ps Frenchie - Johny Kingdon is so full of bull, all this malarky about swapping the gun for a camera

[MartB]

whatever the truth of this, it is good to see the usual suspects come out of the woods:

 

I see that the well known animal expert Brian May has kindly shared his wisdom with us today on the subject:

 

He has thrown down a challenge for the alleged shooter to claim his trophy in public. He argued that no human should have the right to take a life.

Well Brian, you could always take any deer you come across to your local RSPCA when they are reaching the end of their days.

 

Oh, hang on, didn't they just put down an orphaned deer because it was too tame?

 

Brian, mate, you were good in the band, so best just stick to the day job, ok.

[al4x]

Brian May is a fudge packer of the highest order

[Dekers]

A media frenzy and farce from the start, probably the biggest non story of the year so far...has anyone actually ascertained any FACTS at all yet?

 

[Dave-G]

Who of you is Spartacus?

[nicelydoesit]

Meanwhile, Brian May, Queen’s lead guitarist, has challenged the Emperor’s killer to justify his actions.

 

The musician, who received an award in the House of Lords in recognition of his animal welfare work, told of his “disgust” at the shooting of the revered stag.

 

He said: “I would like to throw down a challenge: let’s hear from you.

 

“If you think you have done such a great thing and you are proud of what you have done, why don’t you stand up and claim your trophy in public?”

The 63-year-old rock legend argued that animals should never be shot and that no human should have to right to take a life, claiming the incident had left him feeling “a great sadness”.

 

but i bet hes ok with ordering a nice juicy steak or loves a good sunda roast though

[Beardo]

it's turned into a farce now...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13...-Exmoor-it.html