Avoid stalking conflict

Sir, As Scotland’s deer stalking season gets into full swing, a webbased service to avoid conflict between walkers and stalkers has been relaunched.

This year Scottish Natural Heritage has worked with partners including Mountaineering Scotland and the Association of Deer Management Groups to create a more userfriendly service, which has expanded again this year, particularly in the north-west Highlands, and is accessible from mobiles and tablets.

The site provides information on specific Munros, Corbetts and other popular hills. It also includes routes that are ‘always okay’ and general information such as when the estate will start stag stalking and the days of the week when stalking does not take place.

The web service is a quick way to check that you won’t disturb deer stalking when heading to participating hills between July and October.

We hope that you find the service easy to use and would welcome feedback by email to HFTSH@snh.gov.uk.

We expect the service to continue to grow, so if the hills you want to climb aren’t included on the site, it is worth taking another look before you head out.

The website helps walkers follow the advice in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code to try to find out where stag stalking is taking place and who to contact if more information is required.

The code also encourages walkers to take account of reasonable advice on alternative routes and to avoid crossing land where stalking is taking place.

The website can be found at www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/hftsh.

Fiona Cuninghame, SNH recreation and access officer and James Orpwood, Mountaineering Scotland access officer.