Guest post by Tony Orman
An article entitled “Farewell to Deer, Salmon and Grouse.” from a Scottish newspaper “The Oban Times.” 22 August 2019 paints a sorry picture for fishing and hunting.
The article began “The old saying ‘a deer from the hill, a salmon from the river and a tree from the wood ‘describes the traditional entitlement of every Highlander.”
“It is sad indeed that in the 21st century not one of these can be had without complying with the mind-blending rules and pet regulations of a bureaucracy determined to extinguish the very sports it purports o regulate.”
The value of field sports to the Scottish economy has been estimated at 200 million pounds a year.
That’s about $400 million NZ.
A major reason the article said was “interference by government agencies”. The rural people were people traditionally skilled and experienced in the ways of the wild and Nature with “a practical knowledge of the habits of deer, salmon, grouse, plants and wildlife in general.”
“These local stewards have largely been replaced by desk-bound scientists and officials who understand little of the workings of the countryside and seem intent on bankrupting it for future generations in pursuit of trying to create a mythical Arcadian estate. The question being asked today is how long rural communities can survive such meddling?”
“All of Scotland’s field sports are under pressure from an anti-lobby, increasing administrations and red tape.”
The Scottish National Heritage which replaced Scotland’s Deer Commission, seems to have turned its face against deer, blaming them for the destruction of habitat—-culls on an unprecedented scale under taken by SNH — done at night and involve killing heavily pregnant hinds —create greater resentment among genuine hill men”
In 2004 angry game keepers, stalkers and others protested but the authorities ignored the public outcry and flew in contractors by helicopter where at one estate more than “a 1000 deer were shot for he crime of nibbling a few Scots pines.” The result was a marked downturn in stalking visitors and a serious loss of local revenue.
“Where culls were necessary, they had to be done —that avoided scenes of of recent years where marksman shot them from helicopters and removed their carcasses dangling n a rope under he aircraft.”
Footnote: It seems to have an uncanny resemblance to New Zealand