Further to the introduction of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 23 June 2015, Richard Cooke, Chairman, The Association of Deer Management Groups, said:
“As ever it is necessary to take time to consider the implications of draft legislation and this is a considerable Bill reaching into many areas of rural land management. The interest of the Association of Deer Management Groups and Lowland Deer Network Scotland is confined to the proposed deer management measures and the repeal of the exclusion of shootings and deer forests from the valuation roll and therefore liability to pay business rates.
“The reintroduction of so called sporting rates will be a complex matter and will represent a major exercise for the Assessors covering all rural land including public land. In particular, as in the system pre 1995, it will be necessary to distinguish between the culling of deer, of all species, wherever in Scotland, for management and environmental reasons (not rateable) and those culled purely for sport, a declining proportion of the total annual cull of over 100,000 deer. Our main concern here is that the additional burden of business rates may act as a disincentive to sustainable deer management and related employment.
“The new powers set out in Part 8 of the Bill look to increase the powers of Scottish Natural Heritage to require deer management plans to be written, introducing penalties for failure; also creating additional functions for deer panels. It was clear from the Consultation Paper which preceded the Bill that the Scottish Government were considering changes in this area and we require time to look at the implications of the Bill in terms of amendments to the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. At first sight however, in view of the current progress by DMGs across Highland Scotland in creating new deer management plans which cover the public interest aspects of deer management, SNH is unlikely to need to use these powers other than in exceptional circumstances. SNH has been very successful in encouraging change where it is necessary without recourse to statutory powers and, with the support of ADMG, we would expect that to continue to be the case.
“As a final point it is necessary to restate the wide range of different circumstances in which deer of all species are managed throughout Scotland, from the Highlands to the most fertile parts of the lowlands including urban areas. We need a flexible system which allows for appropriate management in any locality.”