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British Deer Society AGM Weekend
Sat 16th / Sun 17th May 2015

SE England Branch will be hosting the Society's AGM event this year based at The Holiday Inn, Shepperton, Surrey.

Saturday includes visits to Hampton Court Palace, gardens and Home Deer Park followed by a barbeque provided by the park rangers at Richmond Park then a visit including sawmills and abattoir plus options to see deer or a guided walk around the Isabella Plantation.

Saturday night’s Society Dinner will be followed on Sunday morning by presentations from Hon Society Vet Peter Green and Surrey Wildlife Trust prior to the Annual General Meeting. 

Click here  to download the booking form and more information.  

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Scotland Notifiable Diseases Points of Contact 

The Agency for this service has recently been re-organised within DEFRA from AHVLA to APHA -  the website is the same, but the points of contact  have been reduced in number.

A “Find the nearest centre to you anywhere in the UK” post code searcher is available at:

http://ahvla.defra.gov.uk/postcode/index.asp   or go direct to the page of UK addresses at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/animal-and-plant-health-agency/about/access-and-opening#scotland

Please CLICK HERE for contact details for "District Vet for Notifiable Disease notification"

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Tick collection request for Lyme disease study (South Downs)

I am researching Lyme disease/borreliosis (LB) and if you are a deerstalker working in the South Downs National Park (SDNP) your help in collecting ticks from deer culled for other reasons would be much appreciated. The study area stretches from Sussex to Hampshire and includes much of the woods of the western weald as well as the South Downs themselves.

What participation would involve

You will be supplied kits and freepost envelopes to enable you to collect, record and send off the ticks. Once received, ticks will be tested for LB infection. The study will be collecting ticks most months from Feb 2015 to June 2016 but getting involved does not commit you to sending in ticks throughout this period; you can participate as much or as little as you want. Once the study is completed you will be sent a summary and an invitation to an optional free workshop outlining the results and offering practical advice on how to prevent LB, spot symptoms early and access treatment if required.

Why research LB in the South Downs National Park?

LB is transmitted by ticks and if untreated can cause serious disease. Known annual UK LB cases have more than trebled over the last two decades and the SDNP includes two of the ten areas in England and Wales where infection is thought to be most frequent. Those spending significant time in farmland/forestry or having contact with animals from areas with high LB hazard are at greatest risk. Deer have key roles in most UK areas with an LB hazard, but complex systems of other mammals and/or birds are also involved in determining the hazard level. The effect of different UK land management practices on these disease systems is unclear, especially in Southern England.

Get involved

Please get in touch if you would like to participate or have any questions.

Jo Middleton (University of Brighton):  

Deer Aware

Cannock Chase Ranger Robert Taylor and BDS member Joan Brookes next to a new safety sign, marking the start of a new road safety campaign on Cannock Chase, alerting drivers of deer crossing the roads during the short days of winter.

Temporary Illuminating Multi-Purpose(TIM) Signs in the New Forest

BDS Wessex branch ongoing campaign for deer warning signs have met with success. Hampshire County Council have been trialling TIM signs both on the A337 and on the A35 during the rut and will be using them again during January/February 2015                                    

The British Deer Society welcomes science on shooting accuracy and wounding rates 

An important study on deer welfare during shooting has been published in the prestigious international science journal PLOS ONE. The peer-reviewed report is titled ‘Factors associated with shooting accuracy and wounding rate of four managed wild deer species in the UK, based on anonymous field records from deerstalkers.’  The report found that shooting accuracy and wounding rates varied between deerstalkers and identified some of the key reasons why. The British Deer Society (BDS) who initiated and conducted the study with scientific support from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, welcomes the results, which confirm many current shooting guidelines as best practice, and identify others that require improvement. 

To maintain high standards of animal welfare when shooting deer, the report's authors recommend shooting from a supported position when the deer is stationary and un-obscured, shooting only without haste and preferably when the target is within 100m. The authors promote the use of a rifle rest and aiming at the heart/lung area rather than the head or neck. They also emphasised the importance of ongoing shooting practice and achieving recognised stalking qualifications, which were found key to accurate shooting. 

BDS Chairman, Mark Nicolson said: “It is encouraging to observe that many current recommended practices are sound and how important this study is for making further improvements to best practice guidance on deer stalking in the pursuance of deer welfare. This of course is the raison d'etre of the Society, and we will be exploring further ways of disseminating the findings of the report into the training and guidance that is already provided by BDS”.

The full report can be found at:

 http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109698

Poaching and Rural Crime

The shooting community are often those most affected by, or witness to rural crime. We provide the eyes and ears of the countryside and often suffer the consequences of rural crime. Poaching can lead to a number of animal welfare issues, serious loss of income from illegal taking of game and fish and the damage which many poachers do to crops and land. Poachers are usually involved with many other rural crimes from theft of dogs and livestock to burglary.

BDS is committed to increasing awareness of poaching as a serious wildlife crime and is looking to build better trust and relationships between the police and local communities with a view to improving prevention activity, intelligence and enforcement success.

BDS is an active member of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime UK (PAW UK) which helps statutory and non-government organisations to work together to combat wildlife crime. Its objectives are to reduce wildlife crime through effective and targeted enforcement, better regulation and improved awareness. Wildlife crime includes offences like poaching, killing or disturbing protected species or damaging their breeding and resting places and illegally trading in endangered species. It is one of the pressures that can push animal and plant species closer to extinction.

Read more here…………….