Hunters reject year-round culling of sika deer

Several hunting organisations and other stakeholders are urging Denmark’s nature and animal welfare minister to limit sika deer hunting to the season from September to January, rather than allow it year-round, DR reports.

The deer were classified as an invasive species by the EU last year, making them eligible for year-round culling, as are raccoon dogs and coypu. But Claus Lind Christensen, chairman of the Danish Hunters’ Association, said hunters fear a hind could be shot while her calf is still dependent on her.

“We do not believe that is ethically correct,” he said, adding that the issue could be dealt with during the regular hunting season. Sika deer filmed in Jægersborg Dyrehave, a deer park north of Copenhagen, are due to be shot soon. Although the minister has acknowledged that the species will not disappear from the wild in Denmark, it is not permitted to keep the deer behind fences.

Christensen said the damage caused by sika deer is limited compared with that caused by raccoon dogs. He said hunters follow an ethical code for raccoon dogs that means they do not shoot solitary animals during the breeding season if they may have young in a den.

The Danish Forest Association, which represents landowners who grant permission for hunting on their property, raised a further concern: during summer, sika deer can be mistaken for fallow deer. Shooting a fallow deer instead could breach hunting laws, said the association’s political consultant, Frederik Falk-Sørensen.

Sika deer were introduced into the Danish wild more than 100 years ago. Their population is estimated at about 2,100, with the largest groups in central Jutland and smaller populations elsewhere in the country. They account for less than one per cent of Denmark’s deer, but authorities say they compete for food with native deer and could mate with red deer. No such hybrids have been recorded in Denmark, although they have been found in Scotland and Ireland.

Minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen said last week that the government’s approach would not eradicate sika deer in Denmark. However, he argued that exempting them from year-round culling would not limit their spread, which Denmark is required to do under EU rules. He also said he had great confidence in Danish hunters’ ethics.