Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1 (DSC1) is a basic qualification for deer stalkers and managers. Full information is available on the DMQ website, together with downloads of the question banks. There are a number of Assessment Centres offering DSC1, the main ones being BASC and The British Deer Society (BDS).

Training manuals covering all the areas tested in DSC1 are available from Donington Deer Management (01332 810757), from BASC or from BDS. Training courses can be provided - contact me for details and prices

The DSC1 assessment covers 5 areas.

1. A written assessment. This has 50 multiple choice questions which are taken from a bank of questions. To pass, at least 40 questions must be answered correctly.

2. A visual assessment. Candidates are shown 20 slides covering the 6 species of wild deer in the UK. For each slide the species and the sex have to be identified correctly to gain a mark. To pass, candidates must obtain at least 16 marks out of the possible 20.

3. A safety assessment. Candidates are walked round a course during which they have to find at least 4 (there may be more) deer targets and specify whether they would shoot at them or not. Candidates are also asked a number of questions on safety, and all have to be answered correctly.

4. A shooting assessment. This has 2 parts. First, the candidate must put 3 shots inside a 4 inch circle on a zero target from 100 yards. Three attempts at this are allowed in any one day. When that has been achieved, the candidate can then have 3 attempts (in any one day) to put:

2 shots into the killing area of a deer target from 100 yards (in any position using normal stalking aids such as rucksack or bipod);

2 shots into the killing area of a deer target from 70 yards sitting or kneeling (again normal aids such as bipod or sticks may be used); and

2 shots into the killing area of a deer target from 40 yards standing (sticks may be used).

5. A food hygiene assessment. This has 40 questions on areas such as recognising normal and abnormal behaviour, common diseases, signs of ill-health, possible sources of contamination and hygienic working techniques. There are also food hygiene questions on risks to human health, use of veterinary medicines on wild deer, food safety and notifiable diseases. Any candidate who holds a VRQ in Wild Game Meat Hygiene, or the NGO certificate in Game Meat Hygiene, may elect not to take the 5th module but they will be required to produce their VRQ or NGO certificate at the DSC1 assessment. Candidates registered before 1 May 2006 will not have to take the 5th module but must sign a derogation statement.

For further information see the DMQ website, contact BASC or BDS or e-mail me.