The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Animal rights groups hit out over Tayside deer cull plans
Plans to substantially reduce Scotland’s rocketing deer population have divided conservationists, land managers and animal rights activists.
The next Scottish Government is expected to table new legislation which will give public body Naturescot more powers to cull deer, including in Fife and Tayside, where they are damaging crops or woodland and causing road accidents.
Deer populations are believed to be at their highest ever levels, with red deer numbers having doubled since 1959. Around 100,000 deer are already culled every year.
Conservationists and land management groups have recognised the need for even stronger action on deer numbers.
However, there is concern some measures under consideration – such as shortening the season when female deer are protected from hunters – will lead to orphaned calves starving to death in early autumn.
Meanwhile, an animal rights group has hit out at “cruel” shooting methods which could lead to “slow, horrifyingly painful deaths”.
It is understood some environmental bodies would like to see the country’s deer populations brought down by as much as 50%.
Outgoing Scottish Government environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham said reducing numbers was necessary to address climate change and biodiversity loss.
The Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 is set to be overhauled following a review of deer management practices by an independent Deer Working Group appointed by Scottish ministers.
Richard Cooke, who chairs the Association of Deer Management Groups and was an external adviser to the Deer Working Group, has concerns about the “top down” approach being considered by the government.
“I suspect that we will see a proposal for new legislation in the next few years, and we will have to see what that comprises,” he said.
“But the overall philosophy behind it seems to be to adopt a much more directive and top down approach to deer management by government.
“In other words, telling people what to do rather than relying on a voluntary system, which is very much bottom up and has evolved very successfully, particularly in the last 10 years.
“The great thing about the voluntary approach is that it allows management approaches that suit local circumstances, which are enormously variable.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to deer management is really not appropriate or practical.
“That would have a very significant impact on the economics of the deerstalking industry, which is an important aspect of tourism and provides an awful lot of jobs. If it didn’t take place and generate the income that pays for those jobs, then we wouldn’t have enough people to do the culling.
“There is a balance to be struck. The system, as we’ve got it, means that deer culls are based on individual population models and deer management groups, and Naturescot are fully involved in the discussions about the cull plans that come out of them.”
Measuring deer numbers is an inexact science because they are not easy to count. Various studies show widely fluctuating numbers. However, they indicate an overall rise in the deer population.
When the Deer (Scotland) Act 1959 was introduced, the number of red deer in Scotland was estimated at 155,000. By 1990 that figure had doubled and there are now believed to be around 350,000.
Sika deer, which were introduced from East Asia, have expanded in numbers and distribution across Scotland, and have also interbred with red deer.