Woeful Woburn Forerunnners in UK Trophy Hunting.

Red deer in the Woburn Deer Park who boast of producing the 
biggest antlers in Europe.  (Photo credit: Paul O'Connor)

What is trophy hunting?

Trophy hunting involves the paying of a fee to hunt an animal for 'the sole purpose of winning a part of its body as a ‘trophy', including antlers, heads, skin and bones. It is not something generally associated with the UK. 

Woburn Estate herald their herd

The Woburn Estate Deer Park was set up in 1993 with a vision to maximise the genetics of red deer and produce some of the biggest antlered red deer in the world. The deer are farmed for excellence and the semen of their sires sold.

A quick visit to their website and their true intentions become unequivocal: they pride themselves on the size of the antlers, not the health of their deer. The males for sale are numbered, not named. They boast of the size and strength of the males, not the overall health of the herd.

Woburn's Deer Park claims to be one of the largest conservation
 parks in Europe.

Conservation at Woburn

Their conservation practises at the park contradict what actually happens to the deer - some of which are extremely rare species, like the Milu (Pere David deer) and Risu deer. They claim to have one of the biggest conservation park in Europe. But, if you read the information on the site, there is very little about what they actually do now that constitutes 'conservation'.

The practice of selling the deer only encourages unscrupulous hunters to purchase the semen and create their own quality specimens. The estate also proudly sells deer to countries like Russia, the USA, Latvia and the Czech Republic, claiming a reputation for integrity and trust.

Where is the integrity?

But, where is this integrity? Russia and the USA are both keen hunting countries. Russia has a red deer hunting season just as the males start rutting and are more active and sensitive. The hunter imitates the sound of the males, who are then drawn out before being shot.

The word 'sanctuary' here is loaded with irony. (Photo: Peter O'Connor).

Social media outrage at farm manager

This week, social media was awash with a post from the Bedfordshire Against Trophy Hunting group.The post was about an article from 2016 about the park’s farm manager, Dan Debaerdemaecker. It sparked outrage from outside the anti-hunting community and will have almost certainly damaged the reputation of the estate. Manager since 2012, Shooting Times and Country magazine unwittingly exposed his deceitful attitude.

He is quoted as saying: I don’t know if there is any other job in the country where you might be stalking with clients in the morning, culling park deer in the afternoon and then conducting artificial insemination or foetal ageing of red deer in the farm that evening.”

The article goes on to explain how Debaermaecker prefers the term ‘client stalking’ to ‘trophy hunting’. He has no issue with the practice and admits there is an open demand for it, creating a huge source of income. Clients pay high prices to take an animal past its prime that would otherwise be culled.

Whilst this might seem a viable option to some, the estate should be responsible for the ethical control of deer numbers. This is merely another excuse for them to continue in this barbaric exploitation of our red deer and profit from large sums of money. 

Chillingly, Debaermacker goes on to state: "You can feel like a poacher in your own park at times. Public perceptions are important, and it's vital to be as discreet as possible."
It appears the sole purpose of the Deer Park is to make money from hunting. Their ‘discretion’ is an admission of guilt they don’t want made public knowledge for fear of losing the perception they run an ethical park.

Most would be appalled by this practice. The Woburn Estate was already worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The deer are so tame you can practically walk right up to them. This is not hunting; it is calculated, easy-target murder for an antlered prize! With little skill or challenge, hunters should be embarrassed to call it hunting. There are even some who criticise the way Woburn handle their hunting practice.

Woburn’s woeful money-making isn’t a new thing. In 2010, the 15th Earl of Bedford was exposed for allowing trophy hunters access to his Pere David’s deer on the Woburn Estate. These deer were extinct in the wild, bar a few pockets that had been re-introduced in their native China.

Links between Woburn and Paul Childerley

There are a prolific amount of individuals organising hunts around the country. One particularly Paul Childerley, owner of Childerley Sporting, manages thousands of acres of stalking ground across several counties in southern England, including Bedfordshire. It is here where the Woburn Estate is situated. His website offers cull hunts and trophy hunting of all six species of deer found in the UK. 

The web page resonates the attitudes and mentality of trophy hunters across the globe. The thrill of the chase; the anticipation before the shot is fired; the exhilaration of the hollow prize.

It is also eerily similar in tone to the Woburn web page. Both clearly emphasise the lack of respect for wildlife and the sheer senselessness of death. When contacted about connections with Woburn, Childerley ignored requests to discuss the matter.

Paul Childerley in action. (Photo credit: Field Sports Channel TV).

What you can do to help

There is much we can do to combat trophy hunting in the UK. Groups like BATH on Facebook provide a fountain of knowledge. Parliamentary petitions to change legislation regarding hunting in the UK puts pressure on the government to change laws. Awareness of the prevalence of trophy hunting in the UK is key to halting a practice that not only puts deer at risk, but other animals, birds and ecosystems that humans rely on for their own continued existence.

Of course, if you want to boycott Woburn or contact them directly to express concerns, applying pressure is more likely to make them take positive action. 

Join BATH here.
Email Woburn Abbey: admissions@woburn.co.uk
Telephone: 01535 290 333


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