Oh Deer……..

My last blip was of the young buck I have been seeing over the past few walks. Today, as Elvis and I approached the open field, he was there again.  He moved quickly to the left and into the scrub area cleared a couple of years ago. It has been growing again, but is far more open than the dense woodland that used to be there. 
Elvis and I continued our walk, but he was spooked. Nose in the air and checking constantly to the left. I thought he could still sense the deer. I was  wrong.  At the end of the path I saw why.  The whole area was surrounded by hunters. Note the man with the gun in the picture. We have never seen them out on 1st August before. What worried me most was the direction they had been facing.  When I started walking, there had been no signs warning the hunt was out. It is required by law.  They were facing the path we had walked on. Bullets do not respect distance when they leave the gun and we would have been directly in the line of fire had they seen the deer we had sent (unwittingly) towards them. They saw me and looked surprised.  I had to take the same path back because now the dogs were out and the road access was limited. Now they had to wait for me to leave. By the time I got to the end of the path, there was a sign.  It had been placed there after I had passed.  No-one had checked whether the path was clear. We did not hear shot during the morning, so we are hopeful.  I checked and the hunt was legal, in high tourist season, close to our house, the gites and other holiday accommodation. A friend said that it was the largest number of hunters he had seen since moving here. It was almost like three hunts had joined up.  I think they are trying to make up for the lost opportunities to kill as a result of the last years covid restrictions. I did wonder whether they might do this. There are quotas, but how they are enforced, in rural France, is anyone’s guess.
I know that if I had seen the buck, the local farmers would have seen him too.  They form the majority of the hunt.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but it looks like a long season ahead for them now.