Because they don’t have any natural predators, populations of deer need controlling to protect the environment and the health of the general population. It makes sense to not waste the result of that culling and eat the venison. Those animals generally have a better life than those raised on farms. I have no problem with eating meat, as humans are by nature omnivores. Eating other creatures is something we have in common with many other species on the planet. However, I take no joy whatsoever in killing. Breeding animals solely for gaining pleasure from killing them and destroying nature through this is a completely different matter. In my view this shouldn’t be called a sport, as there is no equivalent opposing side.
I readily admit to not being an expert on the subject of the mass slaughter of deer, but my instinct is to minimise the killing and maiming of wildlife whether for sport or profit.
Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but deer
do have natural predators - just not here in the UK!
I've just read a couple of articles on the subject. A study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management in 2013 suggests that between 50% and 60% of the UK's deer population would need to be killed each year to keep numbers under control. The UK deer population is reckoned to be about 1.5 million. Therefore, it appears necessary to kill about 750,000 deer each year to keep number stable and to protect the environment.
This would be a never-ending process, so, for example, after 10 years the population would be the same while 7,500,000 deer would have been killed.
Logically, killing every single deer now would not only result in 6 million fewer deaths over the next 10 years, but also end the problem once and for all. So why doesn't this happen if deer are such a problem?...
Money, of course.
Here's a tiny example: In the 5 years up to 2018, the carcasses of 1,195 deer killed in Richmond Park were sold for £188,410 to a 'game dealer'. Let's not kid ourselves - this isn't about preventing deer from eating bluebells, it's about dressing up a highly profitable part of the meat industry as 'environmental protection'.