IN A YEAR LIKE 2020 nothing has been straightforward. Deer management has certainly not avoided the grief afforded to every other sector. A lack of clients, a dwindling venison market and furlough schemes the length and breadth of the country have all ensured taking this year’s cull has been one of the most challenging many of us have seen.
The stag season went smoothly and the boys were all in good shape; a mild winter and pleasant summer have been good to them. However, the lack of clients was surreal. We had a few up from the south, when lockdown restrictions were at their most relaxed, but even then, the carefully avoided handshakes, masking up before getting in the truck, or even wearing a mask when lying next to someone at the shooting point, made for strange new ways of working.
The lack of clients brought its own problems. Deer management costs money — trucks, Argocats, quads, fuel, rifles and rounds, wages, housing, electricity and so on. Taking out clients is one way to make deer management pay for itself.
Instead of a stag being worth simply the price of the venison, taking out clients who wish to experience Scottish hill stalking can result in the stag being worth up to several thousand pounds — depending on the provider and quality of experience. This money goes towards the funding of deer management and delivering public goods — peatland restoration, woodland regeneration, woodland planting, or preventing riverbank erosion, for example.
Denne historien er fra January 13, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra January 13, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
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
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
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
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
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
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside