In May I updated you on the Habitat Monitoring Programme that is now in place within the Group. Every aspect of the management of Scotland’s ‘Deer Population’ has been the subject of a thorough review by Scottish Natural Heritage, acting on instructions from the Scottish Government.
Every Deer Management Group throughout Scotland has been thoroughly assessed, and marks have been given for the effectiveness of Group administration, the quality of training, and the huge contribution made by Landowners, their staff, and SNH towards ensuring the well-being of deer.
Furthermore, the issue of delivering ‘Public Interest’ has been high on the Agenda, with 14 areas being identified. These include environmental, social and economic aspects of the public interest.
We are told that SNH will collate all these reports and present them to the Cabinet Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham MSP in September this year, along with their comments and recommendations. In addition, SNH have been updating their Codes of Practice relating to Deer Management, reporting on Lowland Deer Management where there are no Deer Management Groups in place, and finally highlighting their Regulatory Powers and how they propose to use them when necessary.
From all this, you can see that Deer are ‘high up the menu’, and that is not only when deer become venison!! The Easter Ross Deer Management Group has been keen to play a positive role in this review, and is anxious to continue ‘Best Practice’ methods and improve where necessary.
We were pleased with our gradings, and I will ensure that the Government’s conclusions are shared with you when they are published.
On a day to day basis, the Group are collectively looking at opportunities for Native Woodland creation, Carbon capture and Peatland restoration, and also how we might be able to host school parties to enable children to learn more about the balance required in managing deer within a complicated, and at times, fragile environment.
Each of the participating Estates has carefully assessed the recruitment numbers of the young deer that have survived last year’s very hard winter. Mortalities have also been recorded, and both these sets of figures have been incorporated into our Deer Population Records, with the help of SNH, to set the correct Cull targets for the coming year.
Please feel free to contact me on any deer related matter and I will ensure, as Secretary to the Group, that your enquiry is answered or directed to the correct quarter.
Gordon Robertson. Secretary to the Easter Ross Deer Management Group
Email. swordale@gmail.com
Telephone. 07825 371324
Website. www.deer-management.co.uk