Counting the cost of deer policy
Shooting Times & Country|April 01, 2020
With no financial reward for professional management, could soaring deer numbers undermine plans to plant 11million trees?
RICHARD NEGUS
Counting the cost of deer policy

Jim and Richard on a deer management mission in woods near Eye in Suffolk

The Government announced in 2018 that it will provide £50million of funding to plant 11million trees in England by 2022.

Much of this is to underpin the Woodland Carbon Guarantee, which encourages farmers and landowners to create new woodland in return for payments of woodland carbon units as these trees mature.

The chief aim of this mass tree planting, we are told, is to “leave the planet in a better state than we found it”. This will be achieved by the newly planted trees capturing carbon.

This funding is additional to the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant, which focuses on the habitat benefits provided by woodland. So far so green. However, there is one rather deer-shaped elephant in the room.

Richard Negus and Jim Allen gralloch the deer before loading the carcass into their vehicle

Browsing on hedgerows

It is estimated that there are between 1.5million and 2million deer currently living in the UK. Most of us know that deer love eating fresh new tree growth. Thus, with 11million new saplings soon to arrive on the menu, rather than storing carbon or providing habitat, it would appear a large proportion of these trees will end up in a deer’s rumen.

Deer, when not munching tree growth, are often to be found browsing hedgerows. I spend the autumn and winter laying, planting and coppicing farmland hedges. Much of this is ultimately funded by you and I, the taxpayers, via money from Defra through their hedgerows and boundaries grants. It is usual that governments mitigate against damage to their investments.

Esta historia es de la edición April 01, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición April 01, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRYVer todo
United we stand
Shooting Times & Country

United we stand

Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors

time-read
5 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
Serious matters
Shooting Times & Country

Serious matters

An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning

time-read
3 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
They're not always as easy as they seem
Shooting Times & Country

They're not always as easy as they seem

While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort

time-read
5 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
Debutant gundogs
Shooting Times & Country

Debutant gundogs

There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting

time-read
4 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
When the going gets rough
Shooting Times & Country

When the going gets rough

Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique

time-read
5 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
Shooting Times & Country

The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition

In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make

time-read
4 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
A step too far?
Shooting Times & Country

A step too far?

Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work

time-read
6 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
Two bucks before breakfast
Shooting Times & Country

Two bucks before breakfast

A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem

time-read
6 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
Stalking Diary
Shooting Times & Country

Stalking Diary

Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 02, 2023
Gamekeeper
Shooting Times & Country

Gamekeeper

Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside

time-read
3 minutos  |
August 02, 2023