Now NatureScot is to offer cash incentives for culling
Two pilot schemes are launched in which stalkers will be paid £70 per culled deer in parts of Scotland, but will they be rolled out nationally?
Financial incentives are being offered to eligible and qualified deerstalkers in two regions of Scotland for shooting greater numbers of deer.
Rising deer populations over the past 150 years have had a detrimental effect on Scotland’s woodlands and wildlife. Expanding depleted woodlands has been deemed “vital” to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, but NatureScot says “it is simply not possible to do this in the presence of high densities of deer”.
NatureScot believes the existing national cull needs to rise by 25% — or 50,000 deer per year — over several years to hit targets to stop biodiversity loss by 2030 and restore nature across Scotland by 2045.
At the moment, 80% of Scotland’s deer cull is carried out by private landowners and deerstalkers, and the pilot schemes aim to boost hunting by offering incentives of up to £70 per deer.
One scheme will target roe deer over a 957km2 area to the north of Glasgow and west of Stirling, and the other will tackle invasive sika across a 527km2 area south-east of Loch Ness.
Tom Turnbull, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, said: “We welcome these schemes, although a national incentive scheme would have been fairer for everyone and would have supported the government and NatureScot in achieving their targets across the whole country, not only in areas that have undoubtedly been on the radar for action for some time.
“We hope that there will be money available for a national scheme if one or both of the pilots are deemed a success.”
Scottish Venison chairman Richard Cooke said that while he welcomed the schemes, he thinks they “may have their shortcomings”. Mr Cooke also questioned whether the infrastructure and logistics were in place to deal with increased production of venison. He added: “We need a market that wants that product and the processing capacity to deliver it to the consumer.”
Technical adviser to the British Deer Society (BDS), Charles Smith-Jones told Shooting Times: “The BDS has always advocated that stalkers should receive an appropriate return for the considerable time and expense involved in responsible deer management.
“While recognising that incentives can play an important part, though, we remain very aware of governmental need to prioritise funding at the present time,” he added.
The schemes will run until March 2025, with a view to repeating them in the following two winters.
