The need for culling deer.

The deer is a herbivore and big game animal that is designed by nature to be eaten as a food source by the carnivores, and as such it will continue to thrive and multiply. Deer can not be conserved without culling, as will be realised when the natural history and physiology of deer is fully understood .

We have no natural carnivores in the UK . Deer which would be taken by predators are normally the sick, weak or injured deer, and a large percentage of the very young. Unfortunately, deer are territorial and fight for breeding rights. Normally the antlers of combatant deer will interlock, but some deer have malformed antlers, which are like needles, without side branches. These forms of antler can cause serious injury to other deer. (A photo of this sort of antler is shown here) All malforms should be culled as a good management principle .

The stalker by practising good deer management needs to emulate the role of the predator on the herds.

 Man has constantly interfered with the affairs of nature since his evolution and it has now reached the stage when interference has become necessary in order to achieve a natural balance with various flora, fauna and the environment. The stalking and subsequent shooting of deer is often described as a field sport, but I prefer to look upon it as a conservation task that can be enjoyed for the objective training, observation of wild life and satisfaction that comes when a job is done properly - with humanity and understanding. Nature herself can be very cruel in regulating the numbers of deer and other animals - The process of natural selection often involves disease, suffering and starvation - whereas man the hunter is able to be selective and kill quickly. It is true that the hunter derives enjoyment from the fulfilment of his hunting instinct but most of that enjoyment comes from the observation and woodcraft necessary to achieve the purpose of culling and management of our wild deer species.