The results from poaching and ignorance
I have made my views on poaching clear in the past, so I will not repeat myself.
Not withstanding the illegality of it, the result from poaching is all too often a badly wounded deer left to suffer due to ignorance.
Not far back I came across a deer that we despatched with a wound in its ankle, it had healed but the animal had suffered in the process. It was caused by someone taking a shot with a .22LR rifle.
The minimum calibre for deer in England and Wales is .240 with a muzzle velocity (force) of 1,700ft/lb and a velocity (speed) of 2,450fps. There is a reason for this, the energy is needed to result in a clean, humane shot and the speed helps produce that energy.
A .22LR subsonic (less than the speed of sound) has an energy roughly of 105ft/ lb depending on weight and a velocity of under 1,100ft/lb. The drop (trajectory) of that round is huge, over 50 yards it becomes unstable and both speed and energy are decreased markedly.
The deer we despatched had been shot at using a .22LR at some distance, it therefore dropped to the deer's feet and damaged the ankle.
The animal still had a marked limp and on closer inspection of the pelvic lymph glands it had been fighting infection and suffering for some time – all due to ignorance and a lack of basic welfare for the animals we despatch.
Note the swollen gland on the pelvis and top of the thigh on the photographs, as well as the muscle wastage on that thigh muscle. The infection had been naturally controlled by the lymph glands, but the animal must have suffered a great deal. The carcase was fit to enter the food chain.
“I have lost count of the number of does that have wrecked a roe buck stalk”