What are Deer Management Groups?

Deer Management Groups comprise groups of estates or other landholdings which share access to a discrete population or herd of deer which is managed as a common resource. They have been set up over the last 30 years with the encouragement of the Deer Commission for Scotland, which is the Government agency with the responsibility for the conservation and control of all four species of deer presently found in Scotland.

Red - Roe - Sika - Fallow

There are now over 70 Groups or Sub Groups covering almost all of the open hill red deer range, and expanding increasingly into lowland and woodland areas where all the species can be found.

WHAT DO DEER MANAGEMENT GROUPS DO?

Deer Management Groups are voluntary and are run by the representatives of the landholdings in the Group area. The collaborative activities of a Group would normally include the carrying out of a coordinated count of all the deer in the area annually. This provides a basis for assessing the cull required to meet the combined objectives of Group members and to ensure that the quality of the deer range is maintained, ie. that there is a population of deer which is sustainable in terms of the environment and compatible with other land uses such as farming, forestry, tourism and public recreation and which makes a contribution to the local economy. The cull is agreed among the Deer Management Group members.

Many Groups have developed Deer Management Plans. These provide a framework for the integrated management of deer along with other land uses.

THE FUTURE OF DEER MANAGEMENT GROUPS

Deer Management Groups are not unique to Scotland although they have proved highly suitable to the Scottish pattern of land ownership, particularly where the holdings are generally large, as in the Highlands. Increasingly Groups liaise and co-operate with other interest Groups and with local communities.

They have evolved rapidly in recent years and will become increasingly refined in future through development of Deer Management Plans, Best Practice and increasing uptake in training through the Deer Stalking Certificate and other qualifications in bringing increasing professionalism and discipline to the management of wild deer.

The Group approach to species which are a shared natural or economic resource or which justify a framework for population control is also employed in Scotland, for example, for fish populations through District Salmon Fishery Boards and for rabbits through Rabbit Clearance Societies. They may in future provide a valuable model for the collaborative management of other wildlife species.

Deer Management in Scotland >