My Department is responsible for issuing an annual licence to the Ward Union Hunt Club under section 26(1)(ii) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended. One of the conditions attached to the licence in recent years requires that "the Ward Union Hunt Club shall inform the Minister of the number and sex of all deer released and not recaptured together with an indication of where such deer were last sighted".
The following figures on deer releases were received from the Ward Union Hunt Club for the period requested — a havier is a castrated male deer:
Season
|
Sex
|
Total Number
|
1998/1999
|
8 Stag & 2 Havier
|
10 Deer
|
1999/2000
|
7 Stag & 3 Havier
|
10 Deer
|
2000/2001
|
9 Stag & 4 Havier
|
13 Deer
|
2001/2002
|
8 Stag & 1 Havier
|
9 Deer
|
2002/2003
|
16 Stag
|
16 Deer
|