Why we need deer management (part 1)

Deer stalking (or deer hunting outside the UK) is a thrilling experience and in our core we share the very same emotions, goosebumps, respect and gratitude as our earliest ancestors had. We know exactly where our food comes from and there is just something primordial about the whole thing that is deep embedded in our DNA.

Deer can be hunted in most of the world, methods vary, as do species, habitats and climates, but the UK has no true wilderness and no natural apex predators (where parts of Russia, Canada and the USA do for example). As humans we have long since removed bears, wolves and lynx from our ecosystem in the UK for our own safety and that of our livestock

Furthermore we have now effectively removed most of our natural habitats.

We have cleared vast areas of forest for the sake of food production, housing, infrastructure and leisure activities. This process is still going on (with new build housing sites on greenbelts and HS2 for examples).

Because we have altered the “wilderness” we must assume the responsibility of managers, since the imbalances are our doing entirely.

In real terms, this means controlling numbers of species who thrive beyond natural numbers. First of all to limit their impact on other interests and wild species (such as foxes, corvids, pigeons, rabbits…) and also to protect and aid those who have

a hard time adapting and thriving in our sculpture of a landscape. We find in that category most ground nesting birds (lapwings, curlew, hen harriers, grey partridge), butterflies, pollinators, crickets, lizards, red squirrels etc. This way we can try to avoid their inadvertent disparition as we have with the likes of bustards, corn rakes etc