Deer culling and other methods of control

[muldonach]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

.

Interesting that the Lynx would probably not take such large prey. Never having come across one, I have no concept of size and ferocity. If they don't take the Fallow, they are probably not any danger to us, I guess? It would be fantastic and fairly thrilling to see one in the wild.

There are actually occasional records of lynx taking large prey such as reindeer and sub-adult moose but not often enough to have any impact at all on red,fallow or sika recruitment.

I don't think there is any question of them being dangerous to humans but am not at all sure that the same can be said for dogs, cats etc.

I believe they are pretty succesful at keeping fox populations down but it is a while since I did any reading on them.

Cheers
mac

[Hedge Witch]

This is a very interesting discussion. Thank you everybody for your input. I can only echo what Jeff has said above.

[Pete Collins]

Yes, well said JeffH. And thank you muldonach and Deer Stalker.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

....... I can only echo what Jeff has said above.

Originally Posted by Pete Collins

Yes, well said JeffH........

What's this? Two people agreeing with me in quick succession? I must be doing something wrong

On a more serious note, thank you Hedge Witch and Pete for your support

JeffH
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[ron1863]

In my local forest, which has a large Roe Deer population they cull the deer by shooting them and use wooden seats set on stilts about 10 feet off the ground and placed against a tree trunk and are situated at the edge of a couple of clearings.
These platforms are comfortable and are also an excellent means of photographing the deer.

[salukiwhippet]

The idea of re-introducing lynx (or any other predator) to manage deer populations is a nice idea. However, there are several problems I foresee:

Our deer (especially roe and muntjac - the ones we hope they would manage) are becoming increasingly urbanised. Could lynx hunt efficiently in this environment? And if they could, would they bother or would they resort to scavenging like foxes over here and bears in some areas of the USA and Europe?

A lynx's territory ranges from 25- 2,000 square KM (Wolf Trust - Eurasian Lynx). I manage the deer on 800 acres and this year we are planning to take a total of 60 beasts (mostly fallow) to lower the population slightly, as the deer are causing damage to the understorey of the ancient seminatural woodland, and to crops. I may, if I'm lucky, have 2-3 lynx on my patch. Would they take the number of deer required to sustain a viable population, if indeed they took fallow at all?

Would they bother taking deer at all when there are 500 sheep currently grazing on the place, and 100 cattle, a lot of which calve outside? Being involved in predator control, I know that if there's an easy route, preds will take it, and if I was a lynx on my patch, I'd eat a lot of mutton and veal, and not a lot of venison!

James

[Hedge Witch]

Some really interesting points there James. Maybe having a herd of protective mother cows to contend with might be a bit daunting for the lynx, I don't know. But I would imagine a fair amount of lamb would be on the menu.

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by muldonach

I believe they are pretty succesful at keeping fox populations down but it is a while since I did any reading on them.

Cheers
mac

I could not help thinking about the urban fox population around Agecroft, Salford when I read this.

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

Some really interesting points there James. Maybe having a herd of protective mother cows to contend with might be a bit daunting for the lynx, I don't know. But I would imagine a fair amount of lamb would be on the menu.

I agrree here. I suspect there will be far too much opposition if the East Anglian sea eagle programme is anything to go by. There is a not so quiet groundswell against introduction of predators in the UK and sadly, much of this comes from people outside conservation.