A Swindon man who hunts wild animals to order says what he does is essential to control the population of these animals.

Chris Morgans, 32, set up Stalk to Fork a few years ago and focuses on providing ethically sourced meat, which he hunts himself, to the people of Swindon. 

Chris explained to the Adver that he does not feel bad about hunting these animals because it is a form of population management.

He said: "Provided it is humane and done for the right reasons, it is one of the most natural things and it has to be done with the right precautions.

"It is the right thing to be doing to manage the population.

"It is better for us to take out the overpopulated and let the rest thrive."

Hunting is a controversial subject, especially in rural counties such as Wiltshire.

In 2021, 50 anti-hunt protests clashed with over 100 hunt supporters in Lacock, leading to three convictions. Last year's hunt was cancelled after the organisers were expelled by the sport's governing body.

Speaking about the opinion that hunting generally is wrong, Chris said: "I am open to their point of view and reasonable discussion on the matter but most arguments that are made against it are emotional and from non-scientific standpoints.

"They look at it on an individual basis and not a population point of view, you just need to look at the human race, overpopulation is destroying the planet."

Chris offers a service by which customers can order a variety of wild meat including rabbits, hares, pheasants and venison.

Chris will take an order for the specific meat and then hunt the desired animal in the Wiltshire countryside, having obtained permission to do so by landowners.

They will inform him of which animals there may be an excessive amount of on their land, which he then hunts a controlled amount of, before skinning, storing and selling it to customers.

Chris says this helps control the amount of animals in the area and keep it at a healthy level.

He also says that these animals are killed in a humane way and that the hunting of a limited amount of them is essential to the survival of the population as a whole.

Chris hunts the animals in the Wiltshire countryside and all the locations he hunts in are within 40 miles of Swindon.

The laws for hunting mammals are laid out on the government website, which says deer can be hunted if those hunting follow the relevant restrictions and the type of firearms that can be used.