Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

Expert tips and advice

Deer control

out of season

PESTCONTROL

Imanagedeerona woodland
SiteofSpecialScientific
Interest(SSSI),wherewearehaving
significantandlong-termproblems
withdamagefromfallowdeer
duringthecloseseason.I have
discussedtheideaofobtainingan
out-of-seasonlicencefromNatural
Englandbuthaveheardthatthe
processis complicatedandlong-
winded.Isthereanyotherway
ofdealing with the problem?

Itis truethatanout-of-season
licencetoshootdeermaybe
grantedbyNaturalEnglandtoprotect
thenaturalheritage.However,Section 7
ofthe 1991 DeerActpermitsanoccupier
orauthorisedpersoninwritingtokill
deeroutofseason.Thisis if hehas
reasonablegroundsforbelievingthat
deerofthesamespeciesarecausing,
orhavecaused,damagetocrops,
vegetables,fruit,growingtimberorany
otherformofpropertyontheland.
If thedamagetotheconservation
interestsoftheSSSIamountstodamage
toproperty,it followsthatyou,with
theoccupier’swrittenpermission,may
undertakeout-of-seasoncontrolofdeer
on the land to prevent that damage.

Beforedoingso,youshouldassure

yourselfthat:a) it waslikelythatfurther

damagewouldoccurandthatanysuch

damagewaslikelytobeserious;and

b)thatyouractionwasnecessaryfor

thepurposeofpreventinganysuch

damage.I wouldstronglyrecommend

thatbeforeundertakinganyaction

youobtainphotographicevidenceof

thedamage,preferablyevidencethat

linksit tofallowdeer,suchasimages

ofslotmarks,incaseyouhavetodefend

youractions.Whileyourobjectiveis to

preventdamage,youshouldalsobear

inmindtheneedforhumanecontrol

if shootingfemalesand their young

out of season.GD

Latinname:Halimione

portulacoides

Common name:Sea purslane

Howtospotit andwheretofind

it:A plantofthesaltmarshand

mudflats,seapurslaneis partof

nature’sbounty.Youcanalsofindit

onsanddunesandsandybeaches,

whereit canformhugecarpets.The

bushyperennialhaswoody,greyish-

brownstalkswithsucculentoval

leaves,about2cmto4cmlong.They

arelightsilverygreenandcoveredin

tiny,finehairs.It producesclusters

ofminuteyellowflowers,which turn

intopaleyellowseeds.

Interestingfacts:Thetinyhairs

thatcovertheleavesofseapurslane

helpit tohangontomoisture,

reducinglossacrosstheirsurface.

Andthepresenceofthefungus

morrhizaeinitsrootshelpstheplant

obtainsustenanceina nutrient-poor

environment.Thosesucculent

leavesadda delicioussaltycrunch

tosalads,thoughsomemightfind

themtoosaltywhenraw.Blanching

quickly—cookthemtoolongand

theywillbecomebitter—removes

someofthesaltandtheymake

a goodaccompanimenttofish

andlambdishes.A pinchofblack

pepper,a squeezeoflemonorpatof

buttershowcasesthemperfectly.

Theflowersandseedscanbe

usedasgarnishormadeinto

a flavoursomepesto.

Whenpickingseapurslane,snip

offthetopleaves—tryingtopick

thembyhandoftenmeansyou

accidentallypullupthewholeplant

soit’sbesttousescissors — as they

make the best eating.

Native

Britain

Plants,flowersandfungi

of Great Britain at a glance

VETERINARYCARE

Weintendtohaveourbitch
neuteredandhavebeentold
wecouldhavea ‘lapspay’butit
wouldcostmore.Couldyouexplain
whatthisis,whyshould it cost more
and is it worth it?

Alaparoscopicspay(orneuter)
is analternativetothetraditional
method.Theprocedureenablesyour
bitchtohaveherovariesremovedusing
keyholesurgery,witha cameraand
blood-vesselsealingdevice.It is less
invasiveandallowsfasterrecovery
timethanthetraditionalspay;which
involvesmakinga longerincision,
inthemidlineofthetummy.Usingthe
traditionalmethod,thewholeuterus,
as well as the ovaries, are removed

throughthislargerhole.The

advantagesofa laparoscopyover

conventionalsurgeryincludelesspain

fromthesmallersurgicalwoundsthat

requirefewerstitchesandthebitch

tendstobemorecomfortablepost-

operatively.Thisallpromotesa quicker

returntonormalactivity,duetothe

improvedpatientcomfort and reduced

scartissueformation.

Laparoscopicsurgerycostsmore

thantraditionalneuteringbecausethe

surgeonrequiresspecialisttraining

andit usesspecialistequipmentthatis

bothcostlytopurchaseandmaintain.

Arelativelysmallproportionof

surgicalproceduresarecarriedout

laparoscopicallyinpetsintheUK,

thoughthereis nowa steadyincrease

inthenumberofveterinarypractices

providing this service.TB

Advantages of a lap spay

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 49

Fallowdeerdamageunprotectedwoodland,

leaving behind only sedge as ground fl ora