The Electronic Telegraph 25 April 1995 HOME NEWS

Mock hunts planned to test stress on deer

By Charles Clover, Environment Editor

Prof Patrick Bateson, an expert on animal behaviour at Cambridge University, said yesterday that he would like to use such hunts in his study for the Trust of the effects of hunting on the welfare and behaviour of red deer in the West Country.

The study has been set up by the Trust's council after a poll of its 2.2 million members in July last year. The aim would be to establish in what circumstances hunted deer that had not been killed could subsequently die, a condition known as myopathy.

Staged hunts may show if deer chased for, say, five, 10, 15 or 20 miles would be more likely to collapse from kidney failure or exhaustion when allowed to escape. Prof Bateson said that hunts had told him the hounds could be called off "at will".

Marathon runners and horses under extreme stress had been shown to release so much protein into the bloodstream that it caused kidney failure. Hence horses are given plenty of water after such exercise.

Likely he would recommend hunting should continue

He added that it was "not likely" that he would recommend that hunting should not continue. "The way it might go is that we might find ourselves in the position that people who carry out experiments on animals do - and I carry out experiments on animals. It might be that we would recommend things which would minimise suffering rather than prevent hunting."

He said the proposal for scientific hunts had proved controversial with the League but had the backing of the hunts. If the League were to make its offer of access to information conditional on the proposal being dropped, he would have to stop. "I think it could be a very interesting thing to do, though. I don't think anybody knows that the answer is. It may be that after five miles the dogs are called off and the deer gets down to feeding again."

He said other things also caused stress in deer: stags used a great deal of energy in roaring, and hinds in lactating. It might be possible to see from old records how long certain deer lasted on the hunt, in good or bad years for the herd.

Prof Bateson, who recently visited Exmoor for the first time to see a hunt, also proposes to look at the hunting of hinds to see to what extent the loss of the mother disadvantages the calf. Male calves are more dependent on their mothers for building up body weight needed later to dominate the herd.

He will also look into the stress experienced by deer killed or wounded by other methods, such as shooting. The report will be presented to the Trust's ruling council some time in spring 1997.

John Bryant, for the League, said: "Staged hunts are bizarre. I think the best thing to do would be if an independent person went with the hunt who could take a blood test and have it analysed. That could provide enough information to test the theory of myopathy."

30 Mar 95: Hunt sabatoeur arrested after conviction

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