But the shooting dead of deer on his land is ok. In his blog yesterday he said the RSPCA were now the victims had upset 'scurrilous people who would like to discredit us'. Why would anyone want to descredit him?? Just because he allowed someone to shoot 23 deer dead on his land that's his business . . Yep The Grand National is cruel but shooting deer isn't....apprently. A contract issued on May's behalf by UPM Tilhill, the company that manages Mr May's Middlemarsh estate, shows it licensed a stalker to shoot wild deer. Deer eat bark from trees and if there are too many in a particular area the damage they cause can destroy the woodland. The contract dated from March 2010, seven months after May acquired the land, until last spring shows that the stalker paid £750 plus VAT for the rights. He was allowed to set up four 12ft stands in the woods to enable him to get clear shots.
The stalker who was granted the licence, and who does not want to be named, said: 'I shot 23 mainly young healthy animals.
'I sold the meat to a local game dealer but the money I was paid did not cover my costs. It was not commercial. I do it for sport.