A survey of deer stalking members of BASC and their views on their sport and its future.

In 1997 BASC undertook a major in-depth survey of deer stalkers. The survey questionnaire was a detailed and complex document. The results are based on the replies from 769 active or interested deer stalkers.

A preliminary survey to identify the deer stalking members of BASC revealed that 10% of members were active deer stalkers and a further 15% were interested in deer stalking but were not currently active.

The main survey indicated that:

• 88% of deer stalkers shot deer as a recreational activity
• 12% of the active deer stalkers in the sample were professional stalkers.
• Recreational stalkers spent an average 20 days stalking a year compared with 72 days spent by a professional stalker
• Red and roe deer accounted for over three quarters of all deer culled
• On average a professional stalker shot approximately 8 times as many deer as recreational stalkers although the large proportion of recreational stalkers (88%) means that they account for 47% of all deer culled, highlighting the important role that recreational stalkers play in deer management
• Respondents were responsible for deer management on over a million acres of land, a third of which was upland moor. Almost a quarter of respondents with land management responsibilities had carried out tree planting programmes in the three years prior to the survey
• Over a third of respondents had suffered problems from poachers, 91% of respondents felt that poaching was on the increase

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation
Marford Mill
Rossett
Wrexham
LL12 0HL
Tel: 01244 573000
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