Natural Environment Bill – What does this mean for Scotland’s deer?

On 19 February, the Scottish Government introduced the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, which has been split into four main parts. Part 4 relates to the management of wild deer and is a topic that we have been writing about for some time.

We have consistently pushed back against the Scottish Government’s use of the estimated wild deer population figure of 750,000 to one million deer, which was first reported in the Deer Management in Scotland: Report to the Scottish Government from Scottish Natural Heritage in October 2016. We must bear in mind that these are estimated figures and are being quoted merely to justify culling of the current deer population, instead we should consider the localised impact of deer on a case-by-case basis. The Scottish Countryside Alliance and our partner organisations agree that culling of deer is necessary, but overly onerous legislation may in fact be detrimental for deer management as it currently stands.

Deer stalkers are advised to have the minimum recommended Deer Stalking Certificate (DSC) level 1 qualification in order to shoot deer in Scotland. Introducing mandatory training as part of the Bill wouldn’t be a step too far from what is currently suggested in the Wild Deer Best Practice guides. What we would be most worried about would be minimum cull targets, which will call into question the welfare of the deer. It would be better to manage populations on an area-by-area basis. For example, the lowland regions of Scotland have a large roe deer population that needs to be managed. For this to be successful, and there is no real way to assess populations as it stands, but proper incentivisation for deer stalkers is needed alongside the infrastructure to process the carcasses for sale in the UK food market and beyond.

Around 80% of deer management is carried out by private operators, thus the Scottish Government now has to prioritise incentivisation or risk losing the confidence of these private deer managers. The new Bill seeks to apply new legislation to implement deer management plans (DMP), which may trigger intervention from NatureScot if the plan is not adhered to. This will allow NatureScot to access land without the landowner’s consent, and carry out deer management operations, if the landowner doesn’t comply with the DMP attributed to the land in question. This is a contentious part of the Bill, which needs to be carefully reconsidered with the collaboration of rural organisations and deer managers.

The Scottish Countryside Alliance and our partner organisations are willing to work with the Scottish Government to make this bill workable and fit for purpose, but it must listen to the expert opinions of deer practitioners and stakeholder organisations throughout the passage of the bill, or they will lose the support of another rural sector, which they are ill-advised to do given the impending 2026 Scottish elections.

We will provide a more in-depth look at the Natural Environment Bill in due course.