Conservation benefits for deer shooting

[Oly]

OK, work allows me to take 2 days annually for either charity or environmental work so, having taken one day this year undertaking charity work (my 100km walk in 24 hours - many thanks again for all those who sponsored us - £2600 raised!), I am looking for a good reasoned arguement to go deer stalking for the other day.

 

I am in need on web links to recognised organisations/authorities etc that show that deer culling is conservation. Bearing in mind my new boss is a urban'ite these arguements need to be good - fact/figure based if possible!

 

Many thanks in anticipation.

[Nial]

If you're not paying for a day you could get whoever gives you permission to shoot to

write a letter to say they have an excess of deer and could you come and cull

some for them.

 

:-)

 

 

Nial.

[CharlieT]

I think you will have to use the justification of the "damage" deer do to a specific environment.

 

Deer being browsers (and grazers to some extent) do tremendous damage to growing plants, trees and shrubs not to mention bluebell bulbs and other plants. Hence the need for control in forestry and horticulture. They can also be destructive in private gardens, and amenity gardens and National Trust properties and the like. We used to grow many thousands of young tree on the farm a few years ago and the deer damage was horrendous unless they were drastically kept under control.

 

I am sure you can build a nice little case built round the above..............I have not tried but a google on deer damage may show something.

[Dunkield]

http://www.bscg.org.uk/Deer%20Control%20In...en%20Feshie.htm

[Baldrick]

I can try and cobble together some photos on deer damage to willows, on some of the farms I manage. Muntjac particularly love the bark on cricket-bat willows, grown along most watercourses in Essex. Fallow are also partial to the bark on most young trees, grazing the areas that munties can't reach. We get a lot of fallow-related damage to OSR here too, substantiating the rigorous culling we carry out.

 

Alternatively ask anyone connected with forestry, such as Dustyfox, for their views.

[Oly]

Thanks guys I just sent him an email - outlining what I wanted to do, why, and what the environmental/conservation benefits were (including the below links) and it has come out trumps! Back o' the net!

 

This year one day paid by work for stalking...next year the full compliment of two days maybe!

 

http://nationalforest.org/document/visitor..._the_forest.pdf - in particular pages 3 & 4

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inqu...ce/basc.htm#p12 - Defra report

http://www.basc.org.uk/content/basc__the_deer_initiative - the British Association for Shooting & Conservation

http://www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk/html/faq.htm#need - a government set up organisation looking at the effective management of deer

[Cushat]

Great result! I might try and introduce that idea here!! We do sponsor the Save Our Squirrels thing in Cumbria, so that's a step in the right direction - maybe I should offer to take a day off to shoot greys squirrels?