Deer Culling

Dougie’s Election 7

Deer Culling

One time I was meandering along in the Gairloch

on the west coast

through the usual sea of heather

when I came across  a fenced enclosure

(mebbe 40 acres)

With big signs saying:

EU BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT

You are free to enter

DO NOT ALLOW ENTRY TO DEER OR SHEEP

I then entered (carefully closing gate behind me)

what I can only describe as

a Garden of Eden

full of trees, bushes and flowers.

I said to myself

good god is this what Scotland would look like

without deer and sheep!

For, as is often said to us in natural history programmes,

the Scottish environment is largely man made

created by landowners down the generations

for the benefit of four species

sheep (profit, Highland Clearances and so on)

deer and grouse for the ‘sporting’ pleasures

of the idle rich

and finally

midges

For if you have a look at eighteenth century writing

Burns, Martin Martin et al

there are no references to the notorious, dreadful insect.

Even Dr Johnson,

travelling with Boswell through Scotland,

who complains about just about everything else

doesn’t mention the damned insect once

The midge is a product of our environmental ‘policy’

of the last two hundred years

We must re-forest Scotland

Our natural resources are far too important

To be left to the landed aristocracy

We must turn the Highlands into a huge National Park

(Think of the tourism!)

Get the hunting and shooting brigade out

and the biologists in.

This will entail either deer culling

or massive investment in fencing

as in the above experiment in the Gairloch

It’s up to us.

The Tullos tree planting scheme

is a GOOD THING

though it is a shame for the deer.

So why not protect the trees?

Cost cutting?