AFTER recently moving to the Forest, I am still amazed how beautiful it is. So why don't people appreciate what they have got?
How does the Forestry Commission manage to cope with people constantly moaning about everything they do? I know they bend over backwards to keep everyone happy.
Most people have forgotten the Forest is a working forest. They obviously have to fell trees, yet if they do they are moaned at – perhaps people want the Forestry Commission to stop felling any in this country and buy all our time from rainforests?
And if they don't fell any trees they are moaned at – ie larch needles dropping.
They so-called 'influx of foreign shooters' was exactly two! They do shoot the large bucks but obviously some older males must go to make way for younger bucks. The rangers then cull more females to keep the balance. Or would people rather they shoot the babies?
A high percentage of the cull comes from road casualties and if the deer population grew, so would road accidents.
As far as the deer population being eliminated is concerned, the person who wrote this is obviously trying to scare people about something he knows nothing of. The deer will never be eliminated.
If the land was not owned by the Forestry Commission it would either be housing or private forest where all the deer would be shot for sport (not meat as they are now). Larger and sensitive areas would be felled for timber, and there would be no public access to any of it.
As for sheep doing more damage – sheep do not browse or strip bark, they are grazing animals.
So please, stop moaning. Most of us eat meat and use paper and wood. If the Forestry Commission didn't manage the land as it does, it wouldn't look like it does today – one of the most beautiful areas of the country. – Name and address supplied.