#611: Deer Stalkers needed

Via my Google Alert.

The Daily Telegraph has connected the new specification with a conservation need. There are millions of deer in the countrysde, and when there are too many and they aren't managed this can lead to damage to trees, hedgerows and habitat for birds. There is a suggestion that more young people should be trained in deer management methods.

Charles Smith-Jones, of the Brit­ish Deer Soci­ety, said: “The interest is out there, and it’s a ques­tion of devel­op­ing the enthu­si­asms, and then cre­at­ing the oppor­tun­it­ies.”

He noted that there was a new nat­ural his­tory GCSE, which might help raise aware­ness, adding: 

“I hope the GCSE goes bey­ond ‘isn’t wild­life lovely’ and looks at the real­it­ies of con­ser­va­tion, and what we need to do to main­tain a bal­ance of deer in the coun­tryside.”

It's an interesting perspective... I wonder whether the final subject content and specification will allow for such discussions to take place.