Seeing red! Fury over plans for ‘helicopter cull’ of Scottish deer
HELICOPTERS are to be used to cull deer under controversial ‘wildlife management’ plans by Scotland’s conservation quango.
State-funded Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is hiring a fleet of aircraft and pilots.
Deer roam freely across vast swathes of rural Scotland and conservationists believe a cull is necessary to reduce numbers to a manageable level and ensure the remaining animals have sufficient resources to survive.
But SNH has sparked a welfare row by planning to use helicopters as part of its efforts to control the deer population.
Gamekeepers believe the noise of approaching aircraft will distress whole herds – even animals that are not going to be shot – and force them away from feeding grounds.
They also fear the choppers will be used to drive animals towards marksmen, in a move they regard as a ‘welfare disaster’.
SNH is seeking firms to provide helicopters and pilots. It has a £250,000 budget and plans to use the aircraft for functions including monitoring wildlife, firefighting and staff transport.
However, a new advert states that SNH will also use helicopters for wildlife management.
The advert says aircraft will be used for reconnaissance, ‘transportation of stalkers with rifles and for extracting deer carcasses from the hill’.
It adds: ‘Stalkers’ clothing and equipment will come into contact with mud and blood and this may come into contact with the interior of the aircraft.
‘Pilots must have experience flying in mountainous terrain and have lowlevel flying experience.’ Each helicopter must also have the capacity and appropriate permits to carry firearms and ammunition and to safely transing.
‘Move animals so they can be shot more easily’
port up to four stalkers who will be carrying equipment, including rifles.
Yesterday, the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) said SNH should abandon its plans to use helicopters for culling deer.
Lea MacNally, of the organisation’s deer group, said: ‘The SGA fears helicopters will be used not only to transport stalkers and carcasses but that the temptation will also be there to use the chopper to move deer so they can be shot more easily.
‘What may seem like helicopterassisted culling then becomes something else, bringing welfare issues for deer.’ He added: ‘Deer are already being moved on around the landscape more than ever before because of increased recreational activity by walkers and bikers, and by increased levels of authorised out-of-season and night shootDeer are increasingly using depleted body reserves, particularly in winter, and are rarely at peace. ‘Helicopters landing and taking off will further stress and weaken them, leaving them highly vulnerable.’ Yesterday, SNH insisted it adhered to strict animal welfare standards. A spokesman added: ‘The vast majority of deer in Scotland are culled without the use of helicopter support and the primary use of helicopters in deer management is for census purposes.
‘SNH staff occasionally use helicopters to support our work in deer management in very specific circumstances but we seek to limit use.’ In response to the SGA’s criticism, SN said it was illegal to drive deer by helicopter to be shot, and that published guidance covers the use of helicopters in deer management.
It added: ‘Sometimes culling is the only way to ensure healthy deer populations.’