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"Deer managers must be careful not to make snap judgements of
I have recently been discussing reasons for the reduction in the local deer population with fellow stalkers. Deer have become high profile since the Government demonised them and encouraged people to shoot more of them. At the same time, the Government also encouraged the public to go out and enjoy the countryside and to take their dogs out, which has had a huge impact on deer and other wildlife. One of the main reasons that deer have become centre of attention is the large number being killed on the roads. There will always be road traffic accidents (RTAs) as deer migrate or are chased out by other deer.
It is, however, interesting that there were far fewer deer-related RTAs during the foot-and-mouth outbreak when the countryside was closed to the public. It also seems that many more people have centrefire rifles capable of killing deer, often fitted with a sound moderator. These are not necessarily in the right calibre, but it is almost impossible to tell if a deer was killed legally. The March extension to the doe season could be seen as a move towards the open season in place on some Scottish forestry blocks. Certainly, more does are shot as a result, and the shooting of kids of either sex has also increased. The recession has led to more deer being shot for cash as opposed to food, both by legitimate stalkers and poachers. Years ago, during the Miners’ Strikes, I read that the countryside around the mining villages was devoid of any game as the miners struggled to feed their families. It is interesting that in the current recession farm animals and deer are being taken for the same reason.
It seems, too, that more people have become involved in the trophy business, guiding foreign clients. I don’t see this as sustainable in the long term, as some of them rely on permission to shoot over several farms and the stalking consists of driving around until a trophy is spotted. This is hardly in the true spirit of hunting or good deer management and is occasionally done without the full permission or knowledge of the landowner.
"They may be territorial, but not to the point of starvation."
Then there is the question of the availability of food for the deer. I have no doubt that deer migrate in search of better pastures, even if only temporarily due to disturbance or bad weather. They may be territorial, but not to the point of starvation. At this time of year, we should also be aware of the changes in woodland as it reverts from dense bramble cover and no canopy to full canopy and no ground cover. This directly affects the number of deer the woodland can support without an adverse impact on the local flora. Deer managers must be careful not to make snap judgements of numbers and be aware of such influencing factors. The past two wet, cold summers have affected kid survival rates. At the time of this year’s heavy snowfalls, deer that were in poor condition would have fared badly. The milder winters have probably increased the parasite burden on deer. My dog picked up ticks throughout last winter, and deer often have clusters of them. I often have the pleasure of a ked for company after a successful stalking trip. Then there are various endo-parasites, such as liver fluke, pneumonia and TB plus the odd injury — I’ve shot several deer with broken or missing legs. Deer occasionally break a leg running through woodland, but undoubtedly stock netting topped with barbed wire kills and injures a considerable number each year, and agricultural machinery inevitably catches a few kids.
Two years ago, an autumn count in a local area recorded 32 roe, half of which were kids. Based on that count I shot fi ve adult does that winter, but I doubt I could find 10 deer in the same area now and no does were shot this year. Proportionately, the numbers are similar on another area. Both areas are affected by different factors. One suffers from a high level of public disturbance coupled with night poaching with dogs and rifles. The other area has seen several deer die in RTAs, and I suspect a couple of deer have been killed on the railway line. My annual deer cull in these areas has been virtually abandoned. I have a friend who is a member of a deer management group, supported by the Deer Initiative, who tells me that at the last meeting of 30 or so members they recorded a cull of more than 500 deer between them, the majority of which were bucks.
Naturally, most of their members prefer to stalk during nice weather. This is hardly deer management. I asked how they carried out their census. They don’t do one. This means they have no idea how many deer are on the ground. They also had no record for each specific area, so there will be overshooting in the most popular areas and perhaps none in the more distant ones. There are two management groups in that county, plus heaven knows how many more independent stalkers doing their own thing. So there, as with the rest of the country, no-one really knows how many deer are shot or involved in car accidents. But maybe that doesn’t matter if, as argued, we are only taking the surplus? I think the reality is that deer are now under huge pressure and we should take a step back from this drive to wipe them out.
The idea for the piece came originally from visiting a hunting show just south of Paris, called Le Salon de la Chasse de Rambouillet, which is an annual get-together for top end vendors in France.
Open to the public, the indoor event attracts thousands of wealthy hunters, especially those with an interest in big game hunting, fine guns and rifles, sporting art and expensive clothing. If you are interested in booking an exotic hunting trip, or buying all the paraphernalia that goes with it; then it may be worth a visit - especially from London as the EuroStar and commute across Paris is fairly painless. (www.salondelachassederambouillet.com)
The show has a theme each year, with the latest being, 'Le chasseur, mon ami' - 'The hunter, my friend', which we pinched for the article. By happy coincidence, the journalist Louis Theroux addressed the issue the following week on BBC2 in his 'African Hunting Holiday' investigation.
Most people I have talked to described the documentary as well-balanced and surprisingly fair, given how it started out. I did feel some sympathy for Theroux that he was not prepared to shoot the pig at 30 yards from a blind: perhaps if he had genuinely hunted the creature to feed a table of his friends, then maybe he'd have pulled the trigger.
The notion of hunting as a conservation tool seems to be a cause célèbre at the moment, which made my job that much easier. Indeed, in 2006, there was a symposium on recreational hunting at London Zoo, which was chaired by the the Sustainable Use Specialist Group, part of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and supported by the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), Fauna Flora International and a raft of hunting organisations.
While the conservationists and scientists did not emphatically hail recreational hunting as the answer to the current struggles of endangered species - there are too many examples where irresponsible hunting has been the root cause of the problem - the pro-hunting lobby went away feeling encouraged.
The CIC said afterwards: "Astonishingly, with the heterogeneous make-up of the participants, the major focus of the symposium did not target the usual polarizing and dividing question of whether one should hunt or not, but rather aimed at how to optimize the hunt and hunting practices." The CIC held its own symposium on 'Hunting: A Tool for Sustainable Rural Development' in Marrakech this week.
I had been slightly concerned that I wouldn't find anyone willing to talk about the subject, but that proved unwarranted. One body in particular I did not have room to include was the Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU (FACE), which campaigns tirelessly for the rights of hunters amid the red tape of Brussels.
Their spokesman was quick to differentiate from the African model of conservation hunting, saying: "The first thing to make clear is that the European model of sustainable hunting is based primarily on habitats rather than on specific species, like the African model, and that endangered species are not hunted. In this model, habitats and non-endangered populations are managed allowing endangered species to survive. In this case, resources returned to conservation from hunting non-endangered species are to the benefit of all."
Another source who I would like to have included, not least because they went to some lengths to provide several of the photos, was the Association pour la Protection de la Faune de Centrafrique (APFC). This charity operates a team of anti-poaching guards to protect the elephants in the north of the Central African Republic, which come under attack from heavily armed militia in the Sudan and, to a lesser extent, poachers from Chad.
Thierry Fecomme is a spokesman for the organisation and he appealed for international recognition of their plight before the once-plentiful stocks of game in the country are exhausted: "It is a desperate struggle at the moment," he said, "as the poachers that we are trying to fight are trained soldiers from the conflict in Darfur, funded by unscrupulous ivory traders who we imagine are linked with China. It is a war along the border, which we cannot hope to win without government support."
There is a proud tradition of big game hunting in the CAR and it should be stressed that commercial hunting packages are still being safely operated by experienced outfits. Scare-mongering media stories about armed poachers have previously resulted in tourists cancelling their bookings, which were since proved to be an over-reaction. However, Thierry warns that if no action is taken, the likelihood of attacks on foreign hunting camps will increase.
"The poachers are becoming more and more confident," he said, "and travelling further south to find the ivory. We know that a number of foreign hunters are already choosing not to come back to the CAR to hunt. This is where we believe we will have a chance of receiving more help from the government, because they are losing valuable income as a result. The local people too are losing money because their economy is based on foreign hunters' investment. We are currently deliberating whether to stage an embargo on hunting - a year long strike - to show the government how much they will lose if the hunting stops. It would be a dramatic move, but these are desperate times."
The recent dry and dark evenings lend themselves perfectly to lamping. After a succession of round-robin emails during the day between my co-lampers, Nathan and Dave, we settled on that very evening to venture out.
Our friend Will has an arable farm in Westerham, Kent which is still over-run with rabbits so he welcomed our offer. After wolfing down supper at the farm cottage we piled on the woollen layers to protect ourselves from the biting cold outside. By 10pm the temperature had plummeted to below zero, but the night was still and visibility was excellent.
Duck flighting
The snow and ice in Scotland during these past few weeks have caused chaos on the roads, but for the sportsman it can provide some of the most memorable experiences of the year. All of the ski resorts in the Highlands have profited from this seasonal dump – I’m told the piste at Glenshee last Saturday was the rival of anything the Alps or Rockies have to offer. The only problem was that every Scot on two planks was up there!
I was on a shoot just south of Edinburgh just after New Year when the first snow clouds gathered. Small flakes started to fall just before lunch and by the time we reappeared for the final drive, there were white bumblebees tumbling over the trees and fields. Within two minutes, your cartridge case and gun slip would be hidden in cotton wool.
As the drive finished, our host asked if we wanted to have a go at the ducks. The estate has a well-established splash that attracts wild mallard and teal throughout the season. Some of the Guns opted to drive home before the roads became impassable, but those of us who were staying nearby jumped at the opportunity. There were four of us, all old friends of several decades. If we didn’t see a duck, it would still be a special occasion.
By the time we reached the small pond, lined out with wooden hides, the first mallard were skimming in over the icy water. “Take which ever hide you fancy,” whispered our host, “Let the first ducks land in the water, then wait for them to rise before shooting.”
Ordinarily, we would have struggled to pick up the ducks in the dark, but the reflecting snow bought us some time. Soon, squadrons of mallard and teal were dropping onto the water. They would sit, testing our patience, until the first duck spooked, inviting us to lean out over the hides with guns shouldered. Some duck crossed low like grouse, while others – the teal especially – shot up high like snipe.
A better quartet of Guns would have doubtless filled the bag, but we were happy for our four mallard and a teal (we fired at least 30 shots!), when the last light finally faded. It had been a magical, unforgettable evening; a bonus round provided by the snow.
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