The other week i came across some pictures of 2 Deer that had recently been shot being butchered, well that's quite normal and do not have a problem with it, what was a complete shock was the where it was being done. Believe it or not the carcase was hanging on a makeshift hanger, that's fine, but it was in the middle of someones garage / store room!! and not a sight of Hygiene practice to be seen.
There are 2 dogs walking about, the guy doing the carcase was not wearing gloves or apron and god knows where he was putting his knife???
Well why not everyone has a cold store, which is fine if the meat is for you own consumption then it up to you and your own fault if you catch any virul infection but when, in this case, it was going for sale and into the human food chain i think this is disgusting and should be banned from today.
When you take your DSC (Deer Stalking Certificate) a large part of the course is, believe it or not, "HYGIENE" so i ask you what does the DSC Actually mean??
Well i wrote to the governing body and asked them if this sort of practice is ok and if the licence should be revoked as this is clearly a danger to human health.
This is their reply:
"While we are wholly sympathetic to the views you express, DMQ is a qualification awarding body not a licensing authority; DMQ cannot withdraw its qualifications any more than a school examining body can take away your GCSE because you subsequently forget nearly every word of French you ever knew. Furthermore,
it is not a legal requirement that stalkers hold a DSC; the practical benefit of gaining the qualification takes the form of improved stalking standards and the ability to demonstrate to landowners that the stalker has met those standards.
Naturally DMQ would hope that all those who take the trouble to gain a DSC go on to consistently meet the standards set in terms both of their stalking and carcass handling techniques but, in the manner that the DVLA hopes that all qualified drivers will stick to the speed limit, we have to recognise that this will not always be the case.
With regard to the game meat hygiene element of the qualification, as you will be aware, they do contain exemptions for small operations and while it is to be hoped that best practice will be observed by everyone, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the photographs depict an operation that is able to rely on the exemptions. However, if the business is bound by the regulations, exactly in the manner of driving, responsibility for law enforcement does not fall to the qualification awarding body, necessarily it lies elsewhere; in the case of drivers, with the Police; in the case of game meat hygiene, with the various authorities responsible for food businesses.
Fortunately, anecdotal evidence indicates that game meat has a good record in terms of public health so while the operator photographed is clearly not following any of the guidelines, within the commercial sector he is very probably in the minority."
Yours sincerely,
Philippa Bursey
Company Secretary
Deer Management Qualifications
What a fantastic get out!!! in the case of someone breaking the law in a car you report them to the Police, in this case Who do we report them too?? they won't tell me. A case of here is you licence thanks for your money, no go do what you like!!!
So if a DSC is NOT a legal requirement why do the Police INSIST that those who wish to shoot deer HAVE to hold a DSC, how can in one hand be a legal requirement and in the other it is not????
If it is then the who is responsible for controlling it?? if it is not then would someone please tell every police force to stop insisting on it.
Look forward to your comments.
Here are the pics
I look forward to your views and comments
Phil
