To add to David Geering's and Steve Murphy's comments on wild-life
harvesting, in the Cairngorms in Scotland, for many years red deer have
been carefully protected for the shooting season which earns millions of
dollars for the land owners. The result has been an oversupply of deer that
shelter in the winter in the few remaining old growth Scots Pine forests in
the sheltered valleys. Whilst there they eat anything they can get hold of,
which includes all young pine trees. Thus, no replacement pines and the old
pines are beginning to die.
I believe something was being done to redress this but if action has been
taken since I was there in 1991, it will still take many years before the
pine forests recover. Money tells most strongly in all these matters and
shooters, hunters and collectors are very well organised.
Penny Drake-Brockman
Penny Drake-Brockman
Centre for English Teaching
University of Sydney
Mallett Street Campus
NSW 2006
Tel: 61 2 9351 0704
Fax: 61 2 9351 0709
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