Red deer review should show good progress

Scotland’s upland Deer Management Groups (DMGs) have been assessed for the third time in six years, with previous reviews in 2014 and 2016.

Forty-five DMGs cover the majority of the red deer range, almost half of Scotland’s land area including Argyll, and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has submitted its latest review report to ministers.

Richard Cooke, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, says he is hopeful the considerable progress made by the groups will be evident and the important part they play in safeguarding and promoting Scotland’s natural environment will be recognised.

He said: ‘The evidence from the review will, we believe, show our sector is at the forefront of ecological and habitat regeneration, enhancing the landscape, and managing Scotland’s iconic deer herd sustainably – all a far cry from how, and too often, we are portrayed.

‘We believe this detailed examination and analysis, which has been presented to government, provides clear evidence of progress at national and local levels. The SNH assessment system is well- established and is a robust means of monitoring the effectiveness of deer management.

‘Clearly, the timescales over which environmental change can be brought about may be decades, but that process is well under way. In terms of deer densities, the report produced by the James Hutton Institute for SNH in 2017 based on SNH count data showed that, after a period of population growth, overall densities of deer on the open hill had been relatively stable since 2000 at an overall average of around 10 deer/km2 and are now declining due to culling pressure.’