1.1 The Quantocks and Exmoor are now virtually the only places in England where red deer can be seen in large numbers and in public view. The quality of the Quantock and Exmoor herds is unrivalled throughout the UK.
1.2 Where once herds of deer where to be found in many parts of England, changing farming practices and land use have seen numbers dwindle as farmers are no longer prepared to tolerate the damage caused to crops, trees and hedges.
1.3 Deer hunting has taken place on the Quantocks since the early part of the eighteenth century. Initially the Quantocks were hunted as part of the hunt country of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds.
1.4 In 1901, the Quantock Staghounds were formed and have been in existence for all of this century apart from a break from 1907 - 1917. (referred to in 3.2).
1.5 During this period the hunt has played a pivotal role in the management and conservation of the herd. It has been a key member of the Quantock Deer Management and Conservation Group since its establishment in 1991.
2.1 The Quantocks are a small range of hills in West Somerset, running from the coast of the Bridgwater channel inland towards Taunton and Bridgwater. The Quantock Hills were the first area in England to be designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The AONB covers 23500 acres.
2.2 The majority of the AONB is in private ownership either farmed directly or tenanted. In addition there are Commoners rights owned by a small number of farmers over large parts of the hill. There are about 150 farmers and landowners on and around the Quantocks.
2.3 The Quantocks and surrounding area are heavily dependent on Tourism with the visitors to The Quantocks numbering 400,000pa, twice the density of visitors to Exmoor.
3.1 The size of the red deer herd on the Quantocks is thought to have remained fairly constant over this century, apart from the period 1907 - 1917 when the hunt was disbanded, fluctuating annually somewhere between 500 and 900 in the last ten years as figures from the QDMCG annual census 1991-1999 show. The variations over this period can be put down to a number of reasons - different weather conditions, numbers of counters, the difficulties in counting and movement of deer on days that the counting takes place. Most of those with an intimate knowledge of the deer, including the hunt harbourers, consider the numbers to have remained fairly constant at around the seven to eight hundred level.
3.2 Between 1907 and 1917 the herd suffered a catastrophic decline with the herd becoming almost extinct. In 1917 the then Liberal Government under Lloyd George became so concerned at the decline in deer numbers that it gave a grant to Sir Dennis Boles to help reintroduce deer to the Quantocks and to set up a pack of hounds to once more hunt the country.
3.3 Red deer are frequent y seen on the Quantocks where they are highly visible, often in large numbers. They are regarded as an important asset both locally and to tourists who visit the area. However, although the herd lives mainly on the Quantocks it feeds on the surrounding, more intensively farmed, farmland where crop damage can be significant.
4.1 The Quantock Staghounds are run by an executive committee elected by farmers, landowners and members of the local community from all walks of life who form the four hundred strong general committee.
4.2 The hunt directly employs two full time and two part time people and costs around £80000 pa to run. This money is raised and spent locally. Much additional expenditure and many jobs locally are dependent on the hunt.
4.3 The contribution made to employment and the local economy by hunting on the Quantocks and elsewhere in West Somerset and Exmoor is well documented in the report commissioned by West Somerset District Council to look into the possible effects of a ban on hunting, and published by the Centre for Rural Studies, part of the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester, in February 1999.
4.4 Hunting takes place between September and April and is divided into two distinct seasons - Staghunting in September and October and again in March and April with hinds being hunted from the beginning of November to the end of February.
5.1 In April 1998 the Quantock Deer Management and Conservation Group (QDMCG ) approved a resolution identifying that "the hunt plays an important role in the management of the red deer herd on the Quantocks" and urged the National Trust and Forestry Commission to reconsider their position on banning hunting. This resolution was passed following the submission of over 100 letters to the QDMCG by farmers and landowners covering more than twenty five thousand acres on and around the Quantocks who were concerned at the impact of the bans.
5.2 Damage to crops is a significant factor affecting many farmers on and around the hill. One farmer with 800 acres close to Forestry Commission land is on record publicly stating that deer damage costs him £5000 pa and that if hunting continues to be banned on FC land he will have to cull heavily. Estimates his land carries around 200 deer at any one time.
5.3 During the season the hunt will hunt the Quantocks twice weekly moving around the area in a well-established pattern. This regular management of the herd is one of the major functions of the hunt aimed at keeping the deer on the move, breaking up large concentrations, thereby reducing the extent of crop damage in particular places.
5.4 The hunt also plays an important role in conserving a healthy herd by culling old, deformed or injured deer. Deer are selected for hunting by one of the hunt harbourers who constantly monitor the herd.
5.5 The deer taken by the hunt are never sold, so no one benefits from the death of a deer. The meat is given to the local farmers on whose land the deer has fed. Unlike stalking where a stags head is a prized trophy worth considerable sums, the head of a hunted stag is kept by the hunt.
5.6 This system commands the respect and support of those locally on whose land the deer feed. It avoids a "free for all" where the deer are seen merely as a pest with a value and where random culling would become the norm as farmers reduce numbers to reduce damage and recover some of the lost crop value - and boost farm incomes at a difficult time for hill farming.
5.7 Continuation of the bans is likely to lead to calls for greater culling than already takes place by rifle. This is likely to pose serious safety problems in an area with such high visitor density (see 2.3). In addition it will make the deer less visible as in the case in Scotland where all culling is by rifle and deer are far less visible to visitors than on the moors of the South West.
5.8 In Autumn 1997, the National newspapers carried stories of the culling of 100 deer by local farmers. (The Independent lead with the story on its front page). This cull took place because of fears that the then interim ban by the Forestry Commission combined with the National Trust ban would lead to .an end to hunting and a massive increase in deer damage. The cull stopped when the FC re-introduced licences to hunt for the remainder of the 97/98 season Farmers have agreed locally that so long as the FC docs not start shooting deer on their land and whilst talks continue with thc FC and the hunt continues to carry out its role in the management of the deer they will not restart their cull. A continuation of both Trust and FC restrictions is likely to lead to a change in this position.
5.9 The Chairman of the Quantock Deer Management and Conservation Group, Hugh Warmington, a local landowner, and The Chairman of the Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee, a County Council committee (jointly with the District councils) which overseas the management of the AONB, Cllr Jonathan Moorhouse, have both expressed their concerns about the effect on the deer population if the Trust and Commission bans remain in place. Neither of these individuals hunt.
6.1 There have been two reports on deer welfare, the first commissioned by the National Trust, The Bateson report on the Welfare of Deer, published in 1997 and the second The Joint Universities Study on Deer Hunting published in 1999.
6.2 Scientific understanding of deer hunting and deer welfare has progressed considerably thanks to the Joint Universities Study, which has contradicted Professor Bateson's principal claims about deer welfare.
6.3 Some opponents of hunting appear to believe that they can argue for a ban purely on the basis that deer may experience suffering as a result of being hunted. If organisations like the National Trust and the Forestry Commission continue to ban hunting because deer may experience suffering, then they create enormous difficulties for themselves vis a vis stalking.
6.4 Suffering is defined as difficulty in coping - the extent and duration define the degree of suffering. All scientists would acknowledge that hunted deer that are killed suffer in that sense. If asked whether stalked deer suffer, they would also agree that 70% of them do, i.e. those that do not immediately lose consciousness. Furthermore, the 5% that escape wounded suffer very seriously indeed.
6.5 Professor Bateson's report has not provided a sound basis for comparing the necessary suffering imposed by culling through hunting and stalking. It has been suggested that by definition, for a human to knowingly inflict suffering on a wild animal is cruel. An alternative view is that cruelty is properly defined in terms of unnecessary suffering, and culling is necessary.
6.6 Hunting and stalking should coexist on the Quantocks and Exmoor because hunting allows more deer to exist than would otherwise be the case. The contribution of the hunts to dealing with casualty deer is enormous: half of all deer killed by the hunt are victims of road accidents, shootings, disease and fence collisions, and this welfare benefit must be costed into any welfare evaluation of hunting. Hunting nevertheless cannot cull sufficient deer without the contribution of stalking. Hunting has a larger part in the socio-economic life of the Quantocks and Exmoor than stalking.
7.1 The hunt provides a free twenty four hour casualty service used by individuals, the police and the local authorities to deal quickly and humanely with the many deer that are injured as a result of traffic or poaching. In most cases it is only possible to track down such deer with the aid of hounds.
7.2 The hunt provides a fallen stock service to local farmers removing dead livestock which might otherwise be left out on the hill to rot and pollute water courses. The RAC report referred to in 4.3 identified that the eight hunts in West Somerset dispose of some 12,209 head of dead stock annually, of which total the Quantock Staghounds deal with 734 head.
7.3 The hunt provides a vital recreational role locally in a small close - knit community. In addition to the hundreds who follow the hunt on hunting days, many more attend the numerous functions locally organised by the hunt.
7.4 These activities include the local Point to Point, dances, film shows, a summer horse show, clay pigeon shoot and a children's Christmas party.
8.1 The view of many local people including those independent from the hunt is that an end to hunting on the Quantocks would have a devastating impact on the welfare and numbers of the deer and would lead to job and business losses, damage to the tourism industry and a loss of a source of key recreational activity in an area where there would be little to replace it.
8.2 Whilst it is unlikely that deer will disappear completely if hunting remains banned, those with the most knowledge of the deer believe their numbers will decline drastically to less than a quarter of the present level. That they will not be so visible is not disputed - the effect of increased culling by rifle will be to change those that remain from essentially fearless, therefore often in the open, animals, to gun shy animals keeping their distance and remaining in thicker cover. A vital part of the local wildlife and part of England's heritage, the largest wild mammal still in existence in the UK, would effectively be lost.
8.3 The loss of the hunt and the ensuing changes in the management of the herd are likely to have serious implications for tourism on the Quantocks. Many visit to see the deer; all visit to enjoy the peace and beauty of a remarkable piece of England. The dangers associated with increased rifle culling and the sight of fallen stock left where it dies will not be images to please visitors.
8.4 Two key independent reports back up these conclusions: That of the Deer Working Party commissioned by the National Trust and chaired by Professor Robert Savage which reported in 1993 and the report on the Economic, Social and Environmental Aspects of Hunting with Hounds in West Somerset and Exmoor by the prestigious Centre for Rural Studies at the RAC Cirencester, commissioned by West Somerset District Council and published in 1999.
Prepared March 1999 - N. Muers - Raby (Chairman, Quantock Staghounds)
Date uploaded to site 31 May 2000