Hearts and minds

Stay friendly with public and police this winter and we will all reap the rewards for stalking and deer management, says Richard Hardy

- Richard Hardy

I’m well into the roe doe cull now and I always aim to get as much done before Christmas as possible — the days of January until March are so short and always packed with other calls on my time.

For the most part, stalking continues without much interaction with local people and most stalkers are perfectly happy with that state of affairs. However, dawn and dusk are now well aligned with rush hour and peak dog walking times for the villagers around my stalking grounds. This makes it far likelier that the paths of the stalker and members of the public will cross.

Trying our absolute best to make these chance encounters positive is essential for both recreational stalking and deer management on our own patches, as well as across the wider nation.

Knowing your patch intimately, the location of boundaries, farmers, landowners and keeper by both name and vehicle, the route of footpaths both legal and those rather less so is all essential to safe and considerate stalking. Making contact with the local rural beat police officers — if they’re any good the hours kept by a busy stalker will be of obvious interest to them — and a two-way exchange of information has merits for both parties.

Get yourself added to the Farmwatch messaging group or estate WhatsApp; again, these are incredibly useful conduits for local knowledge.

Tensions

Being aware of how our actions and presence looks to the passing public is most important, as they are almost certainly not as comfortable around firearms and dead animals as we are. Remembering to do the simple things, such as removing face coverings and keeping your rifle up vertical on your shoulder reduces tensions and makes us appear friendlier.