Helvetia and deer management?

J. Ramone

Whether or not Helvetia have the opportunity to purchase land from the state through Coillte in the future, it's likely that the fund is set to become a significant holder of Irish forestry through private purchase.

Has anybody got any idea as to what their policy is on deer management?

6.5x55

Like any venture capital fund they have only one God and that's money.
Their attitude to Deer will be 2 pronged.

1 How much revenue can they generate from the shooting rights

2 How much damage can the deer do to to the crop that will affect the end value.

Don't be under an mis-conceptions that these guys will have any interest in the well being of the deer herd or the any thing like that .There are no altruistic motives with these type of operators

J. Ramone

I'd say you've hit the nail on the head there. Where finance is concerned environmental and wildlife issues are something to be managed from the PR angle. Therein lies a great danger from the stalkers point of view if they were to pander to the "don't shoot them, try the pill" brigade. On that basis you would expect no sporting lets being available while "professional" culling would be resorted to in practice.

The question is whether they see deer as an asset or as a liability. Letting of stalking to the highest bidder is the much leeser of two evils in my view.

I notice on their website that they engage FEL so it's likely that current deer management may be handled by them.

Birdnuts

Troubling times - the fact that these vulture capitalists beleive the likes of Bertie Aherne is an acceptable face of their company does not give rise to much hope for hunters/conservationists etc. that this crowd can be in anyway trusted with such state assets:(