| Gloria 2007-11-24, 9:25 am |
| For many years we have been alerted to the fact that deer numbers have
been kept artificially high in order to maximize birth rates and allow
easy shoots for pro hunting cowards.
Cynical CONservation hooligans like the RSPB *claimed* the only way to
control deer was to keep shooting them! This in fact causes what is
known as a rebound effect, and forces the animals to breed at maximum
rate (which suits the pro hunt nuts like the RSPB) any genuine
conservation body knows if the animals were left alone the breeding
rate settles down to a sustainable level for the food available.
Now we have the REAL reason for maximizing these breeding rates
revealed today and why pro hunt nuts like Malcolm Ogilvie have been
sniffing at the trough for so long.
Once again the taxman has wasted millions of pounds paying for the
slaughter of wildlife in supposedly necessary culls! The pro hunt nuts
get it all ways. Taxpayers money, and shooting money. Win, win all the
way down the line. This is why we need to question CONservation
hooligan charities who support this con!
Sun 9 Sep 2007
http://living.scotsman.com/topics.c...07&format=print
Deer cull plan to make a killing
IT IS one of Scotland's iconic images, a sign of supremacy in the
wilderness.
But the Monarch of the Glen's success has put it at risk of gun-toting
tourists.
In a controversial move that has infuriated the animal welfare lobby,
a new wild deer strategy promotes a big increase in deer shooting in
Scotland to generate extra tourism.
The wild deer population has grown so drastically in the past few
years that government agencies are considering the move to keep
numbers at a manageable level.
The draft Strategy for Wild Deer in Scotland, which will go out for
public consultation later this year, has been drawn up by officials
from the Deer Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, the
Forestry Commission and the Scottish Government.
Scotland's population of wild deer - red, roe, sika and fallow - is
currently estimated at around 500,000 animals and rising due to a lack
of natural predators.
Although seen as an asset to Scotland, numbers have seen a threefold
increase in the last 30 years that has led to environmental
destruction from grazing and trampling in many areas and a rising
number of road accidents.
Deer stalking already brings in £105m for the rural economy every year
and supports 2,500 jobs.
Now officials have decided to "broaden participation and enjoyment of
wild deer" by encouraging more deer-watching and stalking activities.
A spokesman for the Deer Commission for Scotland, which is leading the
strategy, said: "The strategy aims to maximise the benefits of wild
deer to Scotland's environment, economy and people.
"[It will] promote the value of wild deer as part of our environment
and minimise the adverse effects of deer on habitats and landscape,
particularly nature conservation sites.
"The strategy will seek to develop the economic potential of wild deer
not just in sport stalking but in other activities such as wildlife
watching and the wider tourism economy."
Deer stalking is already popular among tourists from countries such as
Germany, Italy, Spain and France, who will pay up to £300 a day for
shooting stags and £150 for shooting hinds. They will also pay several
thousand pounds to take home the head of a stag complete with antlers.
Other measures being considered by officials to utilise wild deer as
an asset include encouraging wildlife watching and photography and the
promotion of venison as a healthy food.
As well as damaging young trees, heather and farmland, wild deer cause
traffic accidents, and measures to prevent the animals from wandering
onto roads have had only limited success.
More than 70 people were injured when their vehicles collided with the
animals last year. Thousands of deer were also killed by cars.
Scotland's blackspots for deer collisions include the A9 at Dunkeld,
the A82 at Glencoe, the A835 between Garve and Ullapool and the A81
between Ballat crossroads and Mugdock junction.
Every year thousands of deer are culled to try to reduce the problem.
But this is having little impact and deer numbers are set to increase,
with some breeds expected to grow dramatically.
Animal welfare charities have criticised the plans.
A spokesman for the animal welfare charity Advocates for Animals said:
"We welcome a review on our attitudes towards wild deer and our
actions that affect them and their welfare. We welcome some of the
proposals such as encouraging and promoting an appreciation of
Scotland's deer for wildlife watching and photography.
"However, it is of concern that the document proposes significant
promotion of deer stalking. Surely our wild animals should not be
viewed merely as a financial resource to be killed and exploited in
the name of economics. Encouraging people to pay to come and shoot our
deer for fun seems to be contradictory to respectful forms of
eco-tourism such as wildlife watching and photography. Is shooting our
wild animals for fun really the image of Scotland we want to portray
to the rest of the world in the 21st century?
"It is of concern that the welfare of the deer seems to merit very
little mention. In order to limit any suffering, it must surely be a
requirement that anybody who is to shoot a deer, for any reason, must
be able to prove his competency. We would like to see deer only being
shot when absolutely necessary and this to be undertaken only by
professional, experienced and qualified marksmen."
However, Tony Andrews, chief executive of the Scottish Countryside
Alliance, said the move suggested the new Scottish Government had a
greater understanding of the countryside than its predecessor.
He said: "Deer stalking is unlike other country sports like pheasant
shooting because the deer actually have to be killed - it is essential
for the wellbeing of the herd and for the habitat. The Government has
got to manage them because they have increased in such huge numbers
and this is a positive way of managing deer. By having someone pay to
spend a day shooting rather than paying someone to cull them, it
brings in more money."
The chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage, Andrew Thin, called for
more deer-stalking when he was appointed, and said he thought hunting
should be more widely available to all people.
"Protecting the natural heritage is not an end in itself," he said.
"We protect the natural heritage in order to deliver a wide range of
benefits to the Scottish people."
Should we encourage more stalking?
NO
Louise Robertson, Scotland campaigner for the League Against Cruel
Sports
"The commercialisation of any killing for pleasure is definitely not a
route we should be going down, regardless of the benefits it may bring
to the economy or the environment. This is about the moral argument
that killing animals for entertainment and financial gain is wrong.
"When a deer cull is necessary, it should be carried out in a
controlled manner by trained experts, not by someone who is doing it
simply to fuel a morbid obsession with killing animals.
"Let us never forget that the slave trade made a lot of people in
Britain very rich. That doesn't make it right."
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