"New research shows that only by killing 50% to 60% of deer can their numbers be kept under resonalbe controll"
Guardian Website
Now i'm not advocating the needless killing of animals (like a certain badger cull happening but thats another story) but there are some points that make a deer cull feasible.
Deer numbers are estimated to be about 1.5 million way higher then is naturally should be and with 6 species, 4 of which are introduced the room for them is running out!
Now allot of people are saying bring back predators like wolves, bears and lynx which quite frankly is a awful idea! it would only workin places with fewer people like the Cairngorms and eveb then the predators would eat other prey like Cappercallie, Grouse and Hare which would put the as odds with gamekeepers and birders.
Allot of people are asking why they need to be culled well theirs a few reasons
- They eat tree shoots preventing the next generation of woodland from growing, the isle of wight is a example where no deer exist and the small mammals flourish there.
- Road accidents, deer like the salt on roads from gritters and come to lick them you can imagine the damage to both car and deer!
- Eating farmers crops causes economic damage to the lively hoods of many people.
the best solutions in my opinion is a controlled cull conducted by experienced shooters (sounds bad but a bullet is a quick death rather then poison or snares) and then sell the meat to local butchers/restaurants so you can have fresh free range meat at a affordable price, certainly better then a tesco horse burger!
Anyway these are my thought so feel free to tell me yours!
