Admissions by the Woodland Trust
- The Trust kills deer if it considers they are a threat to saplings or ground flora such as oxslip, bluebells.
- The Trust uses a number of contractors to kill deer including the sports hunting agency Game International.
- When the deer are killed they are bled and disembowelled with the blood of the animal soaking into the ground of the woodland.
The Woodland Trust presents itself as a warm and caring organisation by promoting events such as tree planting days, with a strong emphasis on family education that appeals to middle-class urban and suburban families. It frequently uses images of little children planting trees. This and other literature sends out the message that everything is beautiful in its woodlands. This soft approach attracts members and donations from the public.
However, what would be the reaction of many children and their families if they were shown a deer with its guts blown out by a soft nosed bullet, and being bled and dis-embowelled with a knife with it's blood soaking the woodland floor, where, a few moments before it had been grazing peacefully?
They would be horrified!
This is the image the Woodland Trust wants to hide and why it objects to this website.
If the public are being asked to support the Trust financially they are entitled to know the full facts of what happens to deer in the Trust's woodlands.