Mark Howard, Deer Stalking in England Ltd…

Deer Stalking in England Ltd was set up by a stroke of luck rather than a planned business venture…

As a gamekeeper in Norfolk, I ran the Bunwell Wood Shoot where we also ran deer stalking for many years. From stalking for ourselves, family and friends, we noticed the deer numbers had risen, and we started stalking first with guests and then with clients. Once we became established and had grown a client base it soon became apparent that we would need more land to offer good opportunities to our clients, and the business started to take off as other land owners, both large and small asked for our help. We would be stalking with a client one day and sitting in a tiny garden the next. All very interesting, and we met a lot of interested folk.

It was just as we got going with DSC1 courses and DSC Level 2 witnessing, together with a small online shop, we then met our good friend, David Gauthier, who was the inspiration for the French wild boar shooting trips. Shortly after that time, our then landlord changed tact. It soon became apparent that it was only a matter of time before we would be ”worked” out of the shoot we were on and that things would need to change…

With an uncertain future, my concern was to protect our interest and I split the business so that the Deer Stalking and Game Shoot were separate from each other, and we grew Deer Stalking in England Limited. With hindsight this was the best thing that could have happened. We took on more land, met with some wonderful people and started to create a brand.

With my wife Susan and I as share holders and my under keeper doing more stalking than keeping plus David involved in the boar trips, things were looking up. Cutting a long story short, as predicted, the shoot in Norfolk closed but we were lucky enough to get a chance to take on the Glemham Hall Shoot in Suffolk. This has added a further 3800 acres of stalking plus the Game Shoot and with the added bonus of moving back to Suffolk, both Susan’s and my own home county, we’re now within 4 miles of where we were born.

Robert, my under keeper and stalker, has moved with us and our daughter Hannah, is now in her second year as apprentice company secretary. My younger daughter Kimberly, has taken very well to stalking with me and has shot her first Muntjac. She is now saying that she would like to train as a stalker and join the company!

We pride ourselves on a personal touch, clients becoming friends, and long term associations are the norm.

With stalking ground spanning over around 10,000 acres in East Anglia as well as another 10,000 acres nationwide we are able to offer some of the best stalking the UK has to offer. With many associates this now includes some world-class park animals. We can offer all 6 UK species, we have a range of ground and the online shop is going from strength to strength. There is a lot more in the pipeline and when the next business move happens regarding training, I will be sharing that with you too.

For now please see our website www.stalkinginengland.co.uk where you will find links to our other website and facebook page.