Deer culling to rise in suffolk.

[shei111]

In our local paper today it states that due to rising numbers of muntjac, roe ,red, fallow, and chinese water deer in suffolk and woodlands , all deer except the chinese water deer do damage to habitat whether by rubbing, fraying , against the trees ,eating new shoots and feeding on the undergrowth . They go on to say that excessive deer population was bad for the countryside , bad for landowners, and bad for the deer . As well as tree rubbing , deer have a penchant for eating green shoots which have recently proved a problem for farmers growing carrots on the suffolk coast. They also eat undergrowth which is common habitat for woodland birds , a spokesman wildlife ranger for east of england said in any one year about 25 per cent of adult deer population needed to be culled to keep the population static. And the forestry commission said that because of the rising numbers of deer numbers would have to be killed to keep the population levels under control. sheila

[tameblackbirds]

yes I saw a report on the bbc last week referring to this sad but probably necessary as no natural predators to take out old, sickly and some young very emotive subject

[Gill Catton]

Its true I'm afraid graceful and beautiful as deer are, they cause a lot of damage and are considered to be the biggest threat to our ancient woodland.

[Dogghound]

Is this by random hunting people who go for the prize kill stag? or is it by an ecologically clued up person who will take a range of different ages and sexes in the population. If its not carried out correctly it can cause lasting damage.

[shei111]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Is this by random hunting people who go for the prize kill stag? or is it by an ecologically clued up person who will take a range of different ages and sexes in the population. If its not carried out correctly it can cause lasting damage.

Rather than than allowing them to kill stags a couple of times a year deer stalkers should be set culling targets such as killing a set numbers of female deer periodically the report says. sheila

[Dogs]

Originally Posted by shei111

Rather than than allowing them to kill stags a couple of times a year deer stalkers should be set culling targets such as killing a set numbers of female deer periodically the report says. sheila

99% of deer managers do a very good job, with a caring and compasionate attitude, and are always looking to improving the quality of the herd on their patch. There are profesional deer managers covering all areas of britain, where they play a vital part in keeping the balance of nature... without them the deer population would explode, and theywould eat themselves into a very sad state of affairs, when, if left(which it wont be) the population would eventually crash with disease, and malnourishment.
Trophy hunters are a totally different kettle of fish, and usualy have no say towards best management practice. Often, some bucks, and stags, need to be culled, where the deer manager may sell the right to take the 'trophy' deer to an interested outside party, and would be accompanied if inexperienced...

[tameblackbirds]

here's a thread referring to accidents caused by deer and how fast the population is growing

BBC Inside Out - Deer Crossing

As I said earlier very emotive subject

[gbwildlife]

this sad but probably necessary