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Martin Edwards studies the shadows of the ancient forest from a high seat and waits. Sitting still, he watches with his special camera.

Then, Edwards aims and fires his rifle.

He has killed a male deer, or buck¹. It was one of many wild deer found in this forest in Hampshire, southern England.

Edwards supports controlling the deer population with a method called humane² deer management.

The idea is to make sure the animals do not become too numerous for the forests and farmland in a country where deer no longer have natural predators⁴. A predator³ is an animal that catches and kills other animals for food.

Population

There are now more deer in England than at any other time in the last 1,000 years, says the Forestry⁵ Commission, the government department looking after England's public forests.

An estimated 2 million deer now live in the country.

The high deer numbers have had a big effect on the environment, officials say. Deer have damaged large areas of woodland, including young trees, as well as the living areas of some birds like robins⁶. Some landowners have lost large amounts of crops to deer. And overpopulation means that the animals are more likely to suffer from starvation and disease.

Forestry experts and businesses argue that killing⁷ the deer - and supplying the meat to consumers - is a good idea.

The reduced deer population can bring back balance to the environment and provide a low-fat, sustainable protein.

Venison

Deer meat is called venison. It is a red meat similar to lean beef but with a stronger flavor.

Although many in Britain see venison as a high-end food, one support group sees it as a good protein for those who do not have enough money to buy other meats.

"Why not utilize⁸ that fantastic meat to feed people in need?" said SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust. The group gives meals made with wild venison to food banks.

The government says native wild deer play a role in healthy forest environments. Still, the government admits that the deer population needs controlling.

But experts like Edwards, a spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, believe killing them for meat is the only effective choice.

The deer population increased greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunters, like everyone else, stayed home and the restaurant market - the main source for venison sales in Britain - disappeared overnight.

"There were no sales of venison and the price was absolutely on the floor," said Ben Rigby, a leading venison and game meats seller. "The deer had a chance to breed massively."

Rigby's company now processes hundreds of deer a week. The business sends venison or steaks to restaurants and food markets. One difficulty, Rigby said, is growing people's taste for venison. This is especially important after Brexit put new barriers up for exporting the meat.

From the forest to the table

In England, shooting deer is legal under some restrictions⁹. Hunters must have a permit, use certain kinds of firearms and observe open seasons. They also need an acceptable or valid¹⁰ reason, such as when a landowner permits them to kill the deer when their land is damaged. Hunting deer with groups of dogs is illegal.

Making wild venison more widely available in food stores and beyond will bring out more hunters and ensure the meat does not go to waste, Edwards said.

Forestry England, which controls public forests, is part of the effort to increase venison use. In recent years, it supplied some hospitals with 1,000 kg of wild venison to use for food.

The approach appears to have been well received. However, it has gotten some criticism from animal welfare group PETA. PETA supports veganism - the practice of not eating or using animal products.

SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust said it is possible to do much more with the meat. Her organization provided hundreds of thousands of venison meals to food banks last year - and people are hungry for more, she said.

She described the meat as nutritious¹¹ and "free-range to the purest form of that definition."

Words in This Story

consumer - n. one that uses or buys goods

sustainable - adj. used in a way that does not overly deplete¹² natural resources

fantastic - adj. excellent, very good

massively -- adv. large in scope or degree