New proposals to manage wild deer in Scotland

Landowners could be forced to pay the costs of deer being culled on their land if new proposals go ahead.

It is estimated there are around a million wild deer in Scotland – twice as many as in 1990.

In October a meeting heard that large red deer were regularly crossing roads on the Rosneath Peninsula, with one a week being hit by a vehicle.

And last year a report by NatureScot showed that between 2008 and 2021 a total of 369 collisions involving deer were reported in Argyll and Bute – the second highest total in Scotland, behind only the Highland Council area.

The Scottish Parliament passed new laws last year to give authorised land managers more powers to help control the deer population – extending the period for culling male deer, allowing the use of non-lead ammunition and permitting the use of ‘night sights’ to cull deer at night.

Now the Scottish Government has launched a consultation on a range of further proposals to improve the current system of deer management. These include:

• Granting NatureScot additional powers over deer management ‘for the purposes of enhancing the natural environment’
• Changes to improve the welfare of wild deer when undertaking deer management
• Removing barriers for venison dealers to help expand their markets and get more venison into the food supply chain

Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders are proposed, with survey respondents asked if NatureScot should be able to recover costs from the landowner where they are required to intervene as a result of non-compliance with these.

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said: “Improving our natural environment and tackling the climate crisis through tree-planting, woodland regeneration and peatland restoration would not be possible without effective deer management.

“We need to get the right balance of wild deer in the right areas to maximise the environmental benefits they can bring as part of a healthy, functioning ecosystem.

“The benefits of carefully managed wild deer populations are not just environmental.

“Deer provide important employment and social opportunities to our rural communities and they form an iconic part of Scotland’s landscape.

“This consultation is an opportunity for people across Scotland to have their say on further proposals to improve the management of deer populations and to help shape future legislation.”

The survey closes on March 29 and is available here.