SNH calls for greater reduction in deer numbers

More needs to be done to bring Scotland’s deer population down to sustainable levels.

That’s the verdict of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in a new report to the Scottish Government.

The report concludes that targets for reducing deer numbers and improved habitat condition have been slow to be addressed and are not uniformly met. Nationally, deer densities have remained high over the last 15 years, and, although densities are variable across different Deer Management Groups, they have continued to rise or remain high over extensive areas of the red deer range and are “at a level which will continue to prevent many natural heritage objectives being achieved.”

The report was commissioned to assess the effectiveness of current deer management arrangements in protecting the public interest, with particular attention on the impact on the natural heritage.

Between 1961 and 2016, red deer densities in Scotland have increased by 60% overall although there are marked variations in deer densities across the country. And with analysis showing that deer density targets and targets for habitat conditions have not been met in around half of all the agreements reviewed, the report notes that grazing by deer and other herbivores is a major cause of the unfavourable condition of natural features in protected areas. The Native Woodland Survey of Scotland found that more than a third of all native woodlands were in unsatisfactory condition due to herbivore impacts. Evidence supports the view that deer are a major factor in limiting woodland condition recovery.

However the Association of Deer Management Groups has hit back at the report, calling it “deeply disappointing”.

Richard Cooke, Chairman of the Association, said that while the conclusions of the report were that present management was not likely to be effective in sustaining and improving the natural heritage, the body of the report painted a different picture, drawing attention to signs of improvement and commending progress.

In a letter to members, he stated: “To any objective reader the Report describes an improving situation and to say otherwise is most discouraging to those who have made a great effort to embrace a totally new approach to deer management in less than two years – nothing less than a change in culture. 

“In the new Deer Management Plans we have laid the foundations for an ongoing process of refinement and improvement in the way we manage our deer and we accept that we are accountable for demonstrating that we do so in the public interest as well as to meet our own collective management objectives.”

He said that the Association expected to continue to work closely with SNH, as in the past.

“Meeting the Scottish Government targets, environmental, economic and social, is a job for all of us, not just the deer sector, and success or failure will depend on our ability to work effectively together in pursuing common goals.”

The full SNH report can be read here.