A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

First Night of Royal Parks Deer Shoots Leads to No Kills

Bushy Deer | 02.11.2010 11:16 | Animal Liberation

Pressure mounts against Royal Parks deer shoots

Yesterday was the start date for the 'culls' of deer in the Royal Parks, which is set to last a fortnight. Red and fallow deer will be shot in this senseless slaughter, with their carcasses sold onto top end restaurants to be eaten by the rich. This brings in over £25,000 for the Royal Parks and other methods could be used to control the population, instead of killing the deer. Three Royal Parks are involved - Richmond being the largest, then Greenwich and Bushy.

Security has been upped during the period of the 'cull' in an attempt to keep the killing secret, with over twenty guards patrolling the site in bicycle teams, jogging teams and in two motor vehicles. However, this has not stopped local hunt saboteurs who are determined to bring about an end to this pointless slaughter of animals. Last night was the first night of the cull, and hunt saboteurs were active in patrolling Richmond Park, with a number of different teams across the area. The park security knew sabs were in the area, however were unable to find us and this resulted in no shooting happening on that night.

Deer shoots are easy to stop, even with a handful of people. All you need is some noise making equipment, such as airhorns and whistles, flashlights and letting the shooters know you are in the area. Sabs are continuing patrols in all three Royal Parks, from dusk until dawn each day, throughout the period of the cull.

Bushy Deer

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

senseless killing?

02.11.2010 22:54

So what other methods are available for controlling the deer population? And what are you doing to get the Royal Parks management to adopt them instead of shooting the deer?

annie citizen

hmm?

03.11.2010 21:18

"other methods could be used to control the population"
hmm?

sid

Deer management alternatives

03.11.2010 21:54

First of all even animal rights activists are not all in agreement that there is even a need to control numbers of deer, in wild populations generally nature finds its own balance according to the food and living space available. The culling increases birth rates so the numbers being born are kept artificially high, which is no doubt the way the Royal Parks want it so they can make money from the venison, harvesting roughly the same numbers of deer every year, keeping the population far lower than is natural for the parks and the birth rates high.
In many areas of the USA immunocontraceptives have been given to deer, it can be given in feed to them, and there is also the possibility of investigating relocation sites.
£29,000 a year from the sale of venison is a considerable incentive not to pursue non-lethal methods!
Immunocontraceptives have been used on deer in at least one area in the UK although the Royal Parks have not been forthcoming with this fact, claiming it was not possible in this country.
So, there are indeed non-lethal methods of controllling deer numbers.
I am hoping that "Bushy Deer" will continue to keep us informed.

Bushy Hare
mail e-mail: Lesley@vegan4life.org.uk

£29,000 is peanuts

04.11.2010 13:08

Great work with stopping the deer cull. £29,000 a year is peanuts though in the grand scheme of things, so I doubt the reason for the cull is financial. I suspect it is mainly about some people involved in the Park satisfying their blood lust and trying to promote bloodsports.

Does anyone know who is being used to do the killing?

vegan

Ethical hunting?

04.11.2010 17:39

I am well aware that there are some hunters out there who hunt only for the pleasure of killing and for sport, and in my mind this is a totally unnacceptable and contemptible way to behave. However, what of those who hunt for food? I believe that it is more ethical for people that meat-eaters to hunt and kill it themselves than it is for them to buy their meat from Tescos. When you buy meat from a supermarket you have very little idea of how the animal was treated in both life and death, whereas if you hunt for your meat you can ensure that the animal is despatched in the most humane way possible. It is also a way to make people more aware of the full impact that their diet has both on the animals they eat and their local environment.

Please don't shout me down as a troll, this is not an attempt at trolling, but a genuine inquiry as to how those in the animal rights movement feel about this.

qwerty

UK Indymedia