Deer managers welcome ‘testing’ of control plans
Despite Scottish Government calls for a tougher approach to be taken with those failing to implement effective deer control measures, Scottish estate owners and stalking interests yesterday welcomed the fact that current measures were to be tested before new legislation was introduced.
As crowds flocked to the first day of the Scottish Game Fair at Scone in Perthshire yesterday, a major talking point was the announcement, by environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham, earlier in the week that Scottish National Heritage (SNH) should take a tougher approach with landowners who did not co-operate or draw up effective deer management plans.
And while she had urged SNH to use “the full range of enforcement powers at its disposal” – which included imposing penalties of up to £40,000 – there was relief that the current intervention powers were to be tested before any further legislative changes were made.
With what many claim is a record deer population in the country, controlling numbers in order to reduce road traffic accidents and environmental degradation by over-grazing and browsing had been recommended in several recent reports.
“We have no difficulty with a more assertive approach,” said Richard Cooke, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, “But we will expect any such last resort action to be justified on a basis of firm evidence.”
Cooke said he also welcomed the recognition by the environment secretary that considerable progress had been made by the deer sector over the past two years, a fact which he claimed had been understated by SNH.
Approving of plans to set up an independent group to look at deer management issues, he said that with attention now turning to habitat monitoring, there was an opportunity to refine the focus.
“Hopefully this will result in a more informed debate on the habitat impact of deer along with other herbivores, especially sheep, rather than focusing on deer numbers and densities alone.”
While many felt that complying with the EU’S 2020 habitat directive was likely to be a major driver behind the Scottish Government’s move, it was widely felt that keeping the sector “on side” would be key.
And while there were specific areas where problems were being encountered, some felt that the acrossthe-board approach needed to be refined.
Perthshire landowner John Bruce, a trustee director of the British Deer Society, said that the creation of a separate panel to look at lowland deer management was a sensible move, as there were considerable differences between uplands and lowlands.
However, he said that with many of the deer action plans only recently put into operation, it was too early to judge if they had been working effectively – and that it would probably need around ten years to assess their true impact.