Report into controversial deer cull due next month

Allan Wilson, the deputy environment minister, ordered a report into the deer cull on the Glenfeshie Estate earlier this month after a mass demonstration by gamekeepers.

The deer commission has since addressed concerns voiced by the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) at a meeting with Executive officials in Stirling on 6 April. This will form part of Mr Wilson’s report, which is expected to issue guidelines for future deer management.

In the meantime, Fergus Ewing, an SNP MSP, has suggested forming a body made up from members of both the SGA and DCS and chaired by an independent Executive appointee to resolve the dispute.

Mr Ewing, who is raising the issue in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, said: "There are possibly many other instances of this which the deer commission are intent on carrying out. They are on one side and the SGA is on the other side of the argument.

"My solution is to each nominate one person and there should be an independent chairman to look at this topic within a short timescale and bring forward a solution. Otherwise we will continue to see the mass slaughter of deer in Scotland, in some cases from the roadside. Is that some kind of bizarre eco-tourism?"

Nick Reiter, the DCS director, said Mr Ewing’s suggestion is not necessary: "Allan Wilson asked us to meet the SGA and an Executive official and a report will be made on that. So in a way, we have done what Mr Ewing has suggested.

"The SGA put their allegations to us and we submitted answers. To do anything else at this stage would be jumping the gun."

Alex Hogg, the chairman of the SGA, said: "We cannot really move until the minister has come back to us. To set up another body to look at this would be putting the cart before the horse."

An Executive spokeswoman said the minister’s report is expected to be made public within a month: "It will look at lessons learned into good practice agreements in deer management."

The dispute came to a head last month when more than 100 gamekeepers from all over Scotland gathered at the Glenfeshie Estate to protest at an out-of-season cull of red deer.

The DCS carried out an emergency cull of 79 animals on the estate in February to help protect the regeneration of native Caledonian pine trees. It later helped the estate owner to cull another 460 to reduce the population that was bigger than expected.

The keepers claimed the cull was actually much larger and complained that it involved the shooting of heavily pregnant hinds. They also claimed that the cull could harm their livelihoods as deer populations will be severely reduced in future.

However, the DCS said the estate acted responsibly and within the law and that further action by keepers could prevent other estates taking action to control deer numbers.

Last week, representatives from the SGA and DCS took part in a public meeting in Kincraig which was called to discuss the dispute.

The DCS was supported by the Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group. Dr Gus Jones, the group’s convener, said: "Glen Feshie is a jewel in the crown of the Cairngorms that has for too long been suffering from numbers of red deer that are unsustainable if the native woodland is to have the future it deserves.

"We fully support the DCS in working closely on deer management with the estate and in going to great lengths to patiently and honestly explain their role to members of the local community.

"When it comes to restoring native woodlands and natural tree lines, it is obvious that deer fencing is not the answer and I am sure these days many land managers and gamekeepers appreciate this."

Last month, Cameron McNeish, the president of the Ramblers’ Association Scotland, called for new legislation to control deer populations in Scotland and to transfer control responsibility from private landowners to the deer commission.