SLE urges MSPs to fix “punitive and unclear” deer measures in Natural Environment Bill

Press Release

The Scottish Government risks undermining decades of voluntary, collaborative deer management – and even compromising stalker safety – if key elements of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill are not improved at Stage 2.

Scottish Land & Estates made the comments as MSPs on the Rural Affairs and Islands (RAI) committee prepare to consider amendments to the Bill for a second day.

The rural business organisation said powers for Ministers to intervene in deer management for the purposes of ‘nature restoration’ are currently too vague and ambiguous to be workable, reasonable and proportionate. Scotland’s private deer sector is responsible for delivering around 80% of the annual cull.

In its Stage 1 report, the RAI committee itself recognised “concerns from the deer management sector about the lack of detail around how the new ground for intervention would be used” and stressed that it was critical the Scottish Government did not erode the trust and consensus carefully built up in recent years. 

However, SLE has warned that the erosion of trust and confidence will be inevitable if the current provisions are not improved.

Ross Ewing, Director of Moorland & Strategic Projects at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Collaborative, evidence-led deer management has made real progress in recent years – and it is delivering the vast majority of Scotland’s annual deer cull. The Scottish Government risks putting that at risk with punitive and unclear new powers which would allow Ministers to step into local deer management arrangements with very little in the way of safeguards.

“MSPs from across the parties have already expressed concern about the lack of detail in these proposals. If parliament gets this wrong, it will damage confidence, undermine trust and deter the very investment in deer management that Scotland needs if we are to  promote woodland expansion, natural regeneration and nature restoration in a sustainable way.”

SLE has welcomed amendments lodged by a number of MSPs – including Liberal Democrat MSP Beatrice Wishart, Scottish Conservative MSP Tim Eagle and SNP MSP Emma Harper – which aim to tighten up the proposed new ground for Ministerial intervention and improve the operation of regulatory powers.

However, the organisation has also raised serious safety concerns about a proposed amendment which would significantly expand the rights of occupiers and grazing committees to kill deer to prevent damage. As drafted, SLE said the amendment risks situations where more than one person has the legal right to shoot deer on the same land at the same time – without knowledge of one another’s presence.

SLE supports an alternative amendment from Tim Eagle MSP, which would require any such expansion of rights to be underpinned by authorisation from NatureScot, including prior notification by occupiers before any cull takes place.

Ross continued: “We strongly support cross-party efforts to put proper protections around Ministerial intervention powers. There must be clear tests, clear thresholds and clear processes, otherwise these measures will be seen as arbitrary and heavy-handed by those who are being asked to do the hard work on the ground.

“The amendment expanding the rights of occupiers and grazing committees to kill deer is a recipe for disaster. Allowing multiple people to exercise shooting rights over the same ground at the same time, without any obligation to notify others, is simply not safe.

“Deer stalking is already tightly regulated and underpinned by a strong safety culture. Parliament must not pass amendments which cut across those principles and create confusion over who is on the hill and when. The consequences of getting this wrong could be catastrophic.

“An alternative approach, lodged by Tim Eagle MSP, recognises that communication and coordination are essential. Requiring NatureScot authorisation and prior notification would provide vital deconfliction and help keep everyone safe. That is a far more responsible and proportionate way to proceed.”

SLE also welcomed several constructive, enabling amendments tabled by MSPs which it believes would strengthen deer management and support those working on the ground. These include:

• The creation of a lowland deer management plan (Rhoda Grant MSP);

• New local authority obligations in respect of deer management (Rachael Hamilton MSP);

• The establishment of a training fund to help cover the costs of essential deer management qualifications (Tim Eagle MSP);

• The creation of financial incentives for deer management (Tim Eagle MSP).

Mr Ewing concluded: “There is a real opportunity for the parliament and the Scottish Government to move away from a purely punitive mindset and instead put in place the tools that will actually help deliver better deer management.

“Proposals for lowland deer management planning, clearer duties on local authorities, support for training and properly designed financial incentives are all positive steps. If the Scottish Government is serious about nature restoration, these are exactly the kind of enabling measures it should be getting behind.

“We urge MSPs on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee to improve the Natural Environment Bill at Stage 2. That means rejecting unsafe and unworkable measures, tightening up vague intervention powers and backing constructive amendments which support the people who are out managing deer, day in and day out, in challenging conditions .”