Cull protest

Aberdeen City Council (ACC) has announced that it will soon begin culling the roe deer on Tullos Hill as part of its Tree for Every Citizen project. The creation of a forest and wildlife haven with benefits for all sounds commendable on paper. However, when you realise it involves the systematic slaughter of the resident roe deer and then the deer who will naturally migrate in to inhabit the newly vacant territory, the scheme is exposed as unethical and unjustifiable.

Tullos Hill supports a variety of plants which attract an abundance of animals, birds and insects. It is already a haven for a diverse ecosystem of flora and fauna and it could be embellished and enhanced without killing the resident deer and destroying what is already their natural habitat. Soil conditions on Tullos Hill, previously a landfill site, are poor and polluted. Combined with its exposed situation on the Northeast coastline, it means that the majority of saplings planted on the hill are unlikely to reach maturity.

ACC’s rangers have stated that schoolchildren volunteers will be used to plant the saplings. It is doubtful if the children would be so keen to participate if they knew that the deer will be killed as part of the project. We urge all potential volunteers to unite in a boycott of every part of this scheme until such time as the council drops its plans to shoot the deer. We, the undersigned animal rights, welfare and conservation groups, wish to express our utmost condemnation and outrage at the killing of the indigenous roe deer and we demand that ACC calls off the cull with immediate effect.

Aberdeen Animal Rights; Animal Aid; Animal Concern; Animal Concern Advice Line; Ethical Voice for Animals; People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals; Scotland for Animals; The Scottish tree Trust