Why We Need a Deer Fence - Rewilding Lettoch

[@lettochfilms]

Well thank you for all the views so far and all the comments. I have to admit I was a bit worried about posting this. It's a controversial but important topic to explore. It touches on peoples beliefs and lives and passions. Being fairly new to rewilding I have been blown away by the impact our deer fence has had on our small site. We planted about 500 trees but are now wondering why we bothered as they're appearing by themselves. What is interesting to note though is not everywhere. In places where the grass is thick and well established the trees are getting hold. Where the grass is thinner the silver birch (& others) are rapidly moving in. This to me suggests we need grazing at a certain level to churn up the ground, but not enough to decimate all the new tree growth. For us this probably means cattle once a year for a week or two. On a landscape scale this would just mean reducing the overall population of grazers to sustainable levels, and then we wouldn't need these expensive and rather irritating deer fences everywhere. The other interesting and perhaps overlooked aspect of all of this, as a very good friend of mine (PP - you know who you are) keeps reminding me is that we need to consider the welfare of the deer. Not just in culling and if and how to cull, but also in their sheer numbers. At the levels we have now it's not great to be a deer. There's little shelter and even less to eat. Lower numbers of deer in mixed and open woodland would make for much healthier and happier deer and leave room for the rich biodiversity that comes with more trees and shrubs. This is as much an animal welfare issue, for the deer we have, never mind for the wildlife we don't have because of the over grazing. Perhaps we might explore all of this in more detail in subsequent videos. But for now, thank you for watching. And no harm, if you're in the UK, of making sure your MSP/MP is aware of the issues. All the best.

[@KelpandFern]

Thanks for sharing the film and the time it took to put it together! Great to hear about your observations in your comment too, there is a big push for "regenerative ag" or "grazing cattle" to help with rewilding but as you've said exactly, any more than a few days or week and the new tree growth is gone. I've followed and documented Feral Goats in Wales for the past four years and now filming and observing a group of ponies on the Wales Coast Path in Pembrokeshire and they have had a small spit of land to "manage" and "improve" biodiversity. The problem is they've now been there for over a month and already the ground is become bare, a few days or a week would have sufficed for young trees to survive. It would be great to have a bigger picture of the grazing done on lands in Scotland and the UK and talk about the elephant in the room, sheep, they outnumber deer 10 to 1, but they are never ever mentioned in rewilding topics and even more bizarrely when overgrazing is mentioned, yet they are the primary issue here.

[@Litheon11]

Yellowstone had a similar issue. They released wolves back into the place and the entire area regenerated. The solutions are not difficult. If wolves can live in the Netherlands, they can thrive in Scotland

[@GeoffMoseley-bz9jt]

Spot on Steve. You have hit the nail on the head. The dual carriageway of the A9 shows exactly what can be achieved as no deer can gain access. But look at the moorland next to it, devoid of trees, just bare land with heather. The woodland just outside Edinburgh shows exactly what the woodlands in Scotland should be like. Brilliant film

[@philiptaylor7902]

What a great video, this deserves to be widely seen.

[@Pam501]

Another thoughtful presentation - thanks!

[@Sam613306]

We also badly need lynx but I think they aren’t too far off them being reintroduced.

[@jbss7382]

THIS FILM, is brilliant Every single person that cares about deer, shooting and biodiversity; needs to see this. Although I’m a “townie”, I understand totally bushcraft, the countryside and about over predation. As Monbio did and or narrated about in Canada; we MUST bring back the natural predators. The farmers might not like it; but they are merely custodians. Thank you so much for making this film. Jonathan

[@andrewyates775]

Brilliant film. Sad and inspiring. Sporting estates have so much to answer for, for the gratification of the privileged few.

[@purplemonkeyelephant]

Great video. When nature is out of balance we end up like this

[@vivalaleta]

Nature is out of balance because mankind killed all the natural predators there.

[@KelpandFern]

We need to sort the 7 million sheep problem Scotland has first. With deer being only 10% of what the sheep numbers are and with huge rewilding efforts where the sheep currently are, the deer are not a problem.

[@joshhoppring5051]

Yeah we no longer have a wool industry so why all the sheep?

[@KelpandFern]

@@joshhoppring5051 they also make up less than 1% of our calories and they are never ever mentioned in the deer and rewilding plans and we wonder why we have problems with nature.

[@Eggyfart83]

Dunno about where you live but in Ayrshire/Galloway loads of farmland is being turned into woodland there's definitely less sheep about here.

[@0Jrock01]

Great film, I hope everyone votes for nature!

[@iainmaclean612]

Money would be better spent on reducing deer numbers! Everyone knows it, nothing is ever done about it. It's a national shame.

[@davidsivills3599]

Bring back the Lynx

[@fionamcphail2797]

Absolutely ...just makes me so angry ! The vast areas of Scotland being used so badly

[@dynamoterror7077]

Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to either do not enough or way too much in terms of herbivore control. Better to distribute livestock guardian dogs to farmers, then unleash the wolves and leopards and lynx.

[@Will-kt5jk]

@@dynamoterror7077have leopards ever been UK native? If not, introducing something the size of a leopard into the UK may mean the local fauna won’t cope/could collapse. At least with the lynx, there’s evidence they’ve been native and the prey populations would likely balance out.

[@dynamoterror7077]

@@Will-kt5jk Leopards and a wide range of other big cats have cycled in and out of the UK for as long as cats have been a thing, with leopards themselves living throughout Europe until the end of the Pleistocene. At this point, the ecology of the UK is so demolished and thoroughly wrecked that any additional biodiversity, especially predators, would be overwhelmingly beneficial. The local faunal collapse happened back in the Bronze Age and it’s only gotten worse. Plus, dna has thrice confirmed presence of at least one leopard in three distinct parts of the UK in the past couple of years, so the rewilding has already sort of started.

[@martyminus90]

You can have some wolf from us. Love from Norway

[@IanPhillipsWildlife]

Can we have some in London please!!

[@GustavSvard]

And some lynx! Lynx would probably be easier to start with since there's far less fear of them.

[@Nemrai]

No, wolves are critically endangered and inbred in Norway because of way too much hunting. If anything, we need more wolves here in Norway, many more. And the same for the other large, predator species.

[@GustavSvard]

@Nemrai iirc the inbreeding among wolves in the Swedish-Norwegian population is such that they're effectively closer than cousins genetically. So... yeah we need new blood wandering in from Finland.

[@peterdillon2628]

Steve, You and Ron touched upon what we see during our lifetime is the norm for what should be present in the landscape. The moors of Scotland and Northern England are considered beautiful by many for their glory of heather when blooming. From that, it isn't too far a stretch to consider that that is the landscape state that requires protection. The "unknown" potential does not enter the mind of the unaware. What is sad, is that many of those who do understand allow the status quo to continue and in many cases actively hinder the return of an enviroment that is diverse and self sustaining.

[@RogerHyam]

Wonderful video. Keep 'em coming.

[@Mr.Skeptic-kp3jq]

Wonderful ! Thank you very much !

[@BryceGarling]

In the united states we plant and maintain forests for hunting. Lots of people feed their families that way. You can buy all kinds of native trees to plant here. When the deer come to feed they get shot. Some hunting lands are more biodiverse here than national parks.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Great film. And a perfect illustration of people not "tending their garden". I don't fault folks for not knowing what they don't know, so let's just get on with fixing the problem instead of crying over spilt milk. I would also point out that Scotland isn't alone in having destroyed their ecosystems. The first step is admitting you have a problem.... and that means you need to be brutally honest about what is actually causing the problem. If you have a burst water pipe, there's no sense in getting out the mop and bucket if you haven't first shut off the main valve to stop the flow of water. I bring that up because folks don't want to talk about "tending the garden" in any sense that might cause hurt feelings or get them called mean names. However, now is the time for that brutal honesty part I mentioned earlier. Scotland is a small place and for too long, the indigenous tribes of Scotland have turned their backs on the fact that they are actually the indigenous people of the land. As you open your borders and allow more and more foreigners in.... those people all need roads and houses and schools and whatever else people need. More people means more pollution, but also more pavement and other hard surfaces that cover over the local ecosystems. Guess what that means? Yeah, we need to be brutally honest and understand that there's only so much room. My brother just returned from Costa Rica and raved about how beautiful it was, and how hard the indigenous people of that nation worked to protect and preserve their ecosystems. And that includes things like making immigration really hard, precluding foreigners from buying property or opening businesses, etc. They put their nation, their people, first because they understand that they'd be overrun with "outsiders" if they didn't. Everyone wants to visit that tropical paradise, but it wouldn't be a tropical paradise for long if everyone who wanted to was moving there and paving over the place. In my area, we have what's called "Piedmont Sprawl". According to the studies, we've lost 40% of our open spaces in my lifetime, and are on track to lose another 30% in the next couple decades. That's open woods, farms, fields, meadows.... all gone. And it's completely changed not only the landscape, but the culture. 1-in-4 people are "non-native" now. All the traffic, pollution, congestion, aggravation, taxes, regulations.... everything's gone up, and not in a good way. Why? Because folks in the past forgot that they needed to "tend their garden" and that requires some brutal honesty.

[@raphlvlogs271]

spiny shrubs such as gorse can be instrumental to woodland regeneration since they can protect newly germinated trees from grazing

[@tikkathreebarrels]

Hillsides bereft of habitation? Isn't that where the habitation which enables deer to thrive? As you are seeing, heather moorland left to its own devices becomes occupied by scrub/shrub willow which then give way to birch. What were the Highland clearances about? replacing people with sheep, not deer.

[@IanPhillipsWildlife]

Fantastic film guys, keep up the good work.

[@MrScalesie]

Very interesting video just one thing the central reservation is also a artifical area due to the deer not being able to graze there . I do understand its a small area

[@victoriasalter1701]

A deer fence could help, but, in the long run, it could be necessary to reintroduce wolves and lynx. The thing is, however, rewilding Scotland with wolves is a bit like baking a cake, with wolves being the cherry on the top. Before we can reintroduce them, we need to work on restoring as much of their habitat as possible, educating the public about them and educating farmers about them, campaigning to ensure that they will be strictly protected and not culled or hunted and ensure that compensation will be paid to farmers for any livestock lost to wolves and ensure that farmers know and have the means to properly protect their livestock from wolves and also educate people on how to protect themselves and their dogs when in wolf habitat and, in the extremely unlikely event of an attack, how to defend themselves and their dogs against wolves and, ideally, provide them with the means and the knowledge to defend themselves and their dogs in non-lethal and non-harmful ways, such as loud noises on phones, rape alarms, etc. Then, we should be able to reintroduce the wolves and they can be an amazing success story, an amazing sight to see, a wonder to behold in Scotland and restore and maintain true ecological balance in Scotland…

[@lettochfilms]

Great vision. Thank you for watching.

[@pi-signal]

Great Video

[@adamcarmichael4881]

Very interesting video. I’m fortunate enough to work for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) here in the states. We have voluntary programs that encourage conservation programs on private lands that Address resource concerns. Other groups have programs like hunters for the hungry and Quality deer management programs. Some of our non government partners include Ducks unlimited, Grouse unlimited and others. At the end of the day we need to wisely manage resources for future generations.

[@commentarytalk1446]

It is quite simple: Climax natural Deciduous Forest for the majority of the British Isles "uplands" is the way forward. Just look at the organic measures associated and the macro abiotic factors consequent from that. Will take centuries to regenerate however demonstrating the macro scale effects involved that humans are weak at reckoning with.

[@ciaransconservation]

Fantastic video, I learned a lot, thanks!

[@SWRural-fk2ub]

I notice, in all these videos of rewilding in Scotland (and there are many), the voices are mainly English, whether owners or scientists.

[@Sandsrodrick]

It’s a complex matter and undoubtedly the deer numbers need to be reduced. Recommended reading is James Fenton’s book of Landscape Change in the Highlands. Much of the upland peat bogs probably haven’t been wooded for thousands of years and that isn’t due to browsing by deer. It might just be that much of the highlands where we find deep peat are naturally unwooded open landscapes. This video is largely about lower slopes, mineral soils and shallow dry peat where woodlands can be regenerated, preferably without fences.

[@reijerlincoln]

Has there been a debete on reintroducing the wolve, as was done in Europe?

[@dawienatral7083]

that wood out side Edinburgh looks great ,if that was England the woodland floor would be mostly brambles and bracken:(

[@sophiareygrace6656]

I wish the people of Scotland know the importance of wolves

[@DanielRichards-bb5vt]

not enough space for wolves

[@GamertronicHD]

​@@DanielRichards-bb5vt Lol there's even space in Germany which clearly is denslier populated than scotland

[@clownguy]

@@DanielRichards-bb5vt Clueless.

[@Harveywhite209]

lol…yeah, there’s not enough space for wolves because the space is so jammed full of the things they eat! 🤣

[@Water_pipes]

That was my first thought too.

[@arthurcooke6924]

It's bad in my country but I, realised that it could be done by the protection of smaller areas or patches and then moving on.

[@davidsivills3599]

Predators would do a better job,nature does a better job than any human.

[@Nemrai]

Exactly. I've nothing against hunting. But us humans can't do the same job for nature and to keep populations of deer healthy and not too large numbers, as wolves and others do.

[@RaketicBearwood]

I do wonder, though-could reintroducing wolves be a viable solution at some point, or would this be a definite no due to concerns for people and livestock in these landscapes?

[@lettochfilms]

I read somewhere that the UK was the only country in Europe not to have a native population of wolves. Not sure if that's true or not but we certainly seem to have developed a resistance to them for better or worse. What's difficult to argue against is the fact we need to allow more regen for all the biodiversity and carbon capture reasons explained elsewhere, and that must mean less grazing, however that is achieved.

[@nategwinn9058]

You don’t need a fence, you need wolves.

[@rikhuizing]

Bring back the Lynx!!! Seems like the best option!!!

[@rickymitchelmore9102]

Same on Dartmoor.

[@alanbrooke144]

Ah, the gateway film to the film “Why We Need Wolves - Rewinding Lettoch”.

[@MichaelPersson-d5h]

Europeans could learn a lot from game management strategies in Africa. We understand this science very well. Come and learn!

[@MichaelPersson-d5h]

Don't forget that fire and grazing are very much part of the natural system.

[@markglidden8766]

More wolves less sheep and cows! We don't need deer fences as much as livestock fences. Use the fences to protect the livestock and let the wolves and deer roam free.

[@joshhoppring5051]

The right amount of Cows can be beneficial but we aren't keeping them properly. Cows should be kept in scrubland. Sheep are very selective about the grasses / saplings they eat whereas cows eat all of it evenly.

[@vivalaleta]

Not enough natural predators.

[@sophiareygrace6656]

They should have re introduced natural predators!!

[@gotherefindout]

Food value of venison ... why not market them as a health protein ..?

[@marr123n]

I always wonder what the natural grazing pressure was before human intervention. Back then, we did not only have different kinds of deer such as red, fallow and roe, but also elk, auroch, tarpan, wisent, waterbuffalo, ... Many more grazing animals in, probably, quite high numbers. Of course, there were also predators so the behaviour of the grazing animals would be different. But still, there would probably be forests that, through high grazing pressure, would eventually turn into grassland. And then eventually turn into forest again. We must not forget that natural habitats are dynamic. There is no 'end' or 'climax' habitat, these are circular and one turns into another sometimes, slowly as is. Grazing is a natural process, balanced out by predators. But 'natural' forest regeneration without any grazing is just as unnatural as no forest regeneration. Regenerating forests without any obstruction from grazin, flooding, ... creates overly dense woodlands where biodiversity will fall just as well, because a forest without those obstructions is just as well unnatural. Allowing light grazing within the fence would absolutly favor biodiversity. But so I wonder, how many grazing animals would have wandered our lands per km² in the past...?

[@lettochfilms]

That's a great thought. Thank you. Throw into that the fact that there were no towns and cities, no land given over to agriculture, etc etc. Lots more land for woodland and grazing. Even on our small 17 acre rewilding site we would benefit from some light grazing from time to time. We're too small to have permanent grazing, unless pigs maybe(?), but we would benefit from a small herd of cattle in the autumn for a week I think, just to churn up the ground a bit. Isn't the point of natural predators that they keep the numbers in balance but also keep herds of grazers moving so that regeneration has time to happen? Lots to explore. Thank you for watching and for commenting.

[@marr123n]

@@lettochfilms thank you for responding! It’s a great video for much food for thought. I agree with your statement of using cattle for a low intensity grazing a few days or weeks a year. It would indeed replicate the movement of herds by predators. A step further even would be to let cattle graze in autumn for a while and then horses in summer. It would both stimulate shrub to grow denser and thornier which benefits songbirds, and it would also bring a little disturbance in soil and rampant vegetation growth. I think it would bring about a balance between natural succession and overgrazing. Anyway an awesome project and much needed for sure. I will definitely keep following to see how it grows!

[@RonaldGreer-cn7uj]

there were never 7 million sheep and a million deer

[@marr123n]

@@RonaldGreer-cn7uj but there were over a million roedeer, half a milion red deer, almost a million auroch, and then also wisent, boar, tarpan, elk and other now extinct deer species in numbers unknown to me. So there was huge grazing pressure naturally. I believe it’s not so much too many deer but rather not enough wolf and lynx. in Yellowstone without wolves we saw too the devestating effects of overgrazing but with wolves in place, with the same amount of deer or more, the problems related to overgrazing were gone.

[@someblokecalleddave1]

Politics, it's down to politics. You have to vote for the parties that might support such initiatives or conversely vote to stop the parties that are primarily only interested in allowing specific people to exploit the eco-systems for their own personal financial gains to the detriment of the rest of us and nature.

[@Esther_Calx]

It’s hard to explain to nature deniers that everything in a forest matters

[@DonAl9114]

Fencing is getting expensive over the time. Not sure if wolves will be the solution as they might get an appetite for animals on farms. A strikter hunting might be more efficient and less expensive.

[@DB-pm2vy]

Venison is an excellent meat. I’m surprised licences are not issued to those who can remove, use or sell it. Other countries manage it better than we do. Licences in Germany for wild boar etc. The Gillie/guides might be in charge/ supervise it. Maybe 200 culled a year. Experts would decide each year IDK.

[@CharlesYeo-qs6nb]

Scotland produces over 3,000 tonnes of venison per year from wild deer.

[@fionamcphail2797]

Other countries may not have the same approach as the monied estates of Scotland who use their land as a playground?

[@honeybeesforsale]

Venison should be on the menu in all of our prisons - but hey common people dining on venison. Shocking!

[@gigivaleri3985]

Give us back the Caledonian forest

[@Greenmahn333]

👍

[@wvufoster]

Introduce a pair of wolves

[@pitbladdodavid]

Funnily enough there’s the RSPB put out a video 3 weeks ago complaining that all the grazing mammals have gone extinct so now they are having to cut in their forests and introduce livestock. Hmmm yet we have a deer problem. Like I’ve said many a time, fencing deer off just concentrates their numbers as the merge together because they cannot pass through the land. And then as is said within the first minute of this video an out cry of there are too many. If there are too many fencing them out doesn’t do anything. You need to manage numbers rather than complaining your neighbours have too many deer. Maybe catch a hundred up and give them to Abernethy then they won’t need to bring multiple farmers in to graze. Building a wall so you cannot see the problem doesn’t make the problem go away. But it does bring in grant money though doesn’t it. Maybe they area could have seen if someone wanted to take on the shooting rights of the place. Managing the deer coming onto the landscape like many of the neighbours will be doing. Land management is a wonderful thing. Another point the RSPB spoke about in their video. 36 years of ownership and they have many areas that have deteriorated because as they show, the land isn’t managed.

[@lettochfilms]

Thanks for that. You kind of make my point. We shouldn't have to put a deer fence up, but we do. So much money is 'wasted' on deer fencing which could be spent on keeping deer numbers down to more natural levels, and by natural I mean so that trees could regenerate. A few estates are doing this now, like Glen Feshie & Marr Lodge (& getting great results), but most are not, hence vast areas of treeless landscape. Standing on the hill above us the only trees you can see are small crops of Sitka Spruce in fenced off patches in a landscape dominated by heather for mile after mile. There are of course pockets of wonderful woodland but most of the Highlands is treeless. If I were the Scottish Government I'd divert the deer fence money into a scheme to employ more stalkers. Seems obvious to me but I imagine someone will suggest a million reasons why it's not practical, so we carry on stripping our land bare, relying too much and unsuccessfully on 'enlightened estates' spending more money on keeping numbers down in small pockets. Thanks for watching though. It's an interesting, if troubling debate.

[@pitbladdodavid]

@@lettochfilms it’s a troubling debate because it’s got far more to do with class wars than anything else. And again Abernethy is a prime example. Capercaillies haven’t just appeared at the reserve when the RSPB took over 36 years ago. Yet it was a grouse moor prior to that. So when it was bought over there was rejoicing that it was no longer used in that way. Yet even the RSPB admit its wildlife has declined. It’s the same with the newly named Tarras reserve. Just recently they were rejoicing at what flora they had. Record highs. Another area that’s been inherited this way, but whilst it was owned previously and associated with grouse shooting that same landscape was barren. Only holding Heather. It has nothing to do with conservation as such. If so then it wouldn’t have taken the RSPB to tackle their Heather issue. What people forget is a lot of our landscape is the way it is because of government agendas. If it wasn’t for the wars last century we wouldn’t have drained the moors to which we are now seeing government grants to restore them. And again if it wasn’t for government grants we wouldn’t be seeing masses of trees being planted. If it was lead by conservation, then conservation groups would have been doing it decades ago. The only ones doing it decades ago were forestry or farmers. You go out into the countryside and see the woodlands that are being felled now, these were predominantly ex farmland where farmers have set aside land and planted with trees. Later on selling off these lands, now to be harvested. Some bought up like they are today by ‘conservation’ groups. Why weren’t these same groups buying up farms 20 30 years ago. Because there wasn’t the grants that benefit them back then. Farm land had to be farmed.

[@Jo007kin]

The cosequence of those in the past who were convinced they were Right and convincing others they were Right...were in actual fact...as Wrong as Wrong could be.

[@MrDesmondPot]

Wolves? Or a massive ring of brambles? Probably wolves.

[@jamesabrett]

Bring back the natural predators

[@mikemyers7721]

You need Wolf, Bring nature back in balance

[@alexking1348]

Country sports, like deer stalking, benefit the rural economy hugely. Yes, it's a minority of people that partake in country sports, and they’re difficult to understand for those that haven’t seen, but the hotels the tourists stay in, restaurants they eat in, pubs they drink in estate workers it employs all revolve around money generated by country sports. Reduce deer numbers and remove grouse moors, and you'll have the highland clearances all over again. Landowners should be able to be use their land for their own economic benefit, as landowners do in England. This enables them to run a sustainable business, and provide local employment (which is in severe shortage). As per usual - it's city folk deciding how the countryside should look and operate, without giving thought to those that have to make a living there. Oh, and don't give me the ecotourism nonsense; Scotland is already beautiful, with large numbers of tourists that visit. But the bottom line is, they go to the more accessible areas of Scotland, like much of the cairngorms, and not to it's most remote corners. Also, bird watchers and walkers don't spend anyway near as much money as sporting parties do. It wouldn't sustain rural communities. I'm not saying I rule out rewilding full stop, I love the natural world, and if a landowner wants to do so, let them. But they should deer fence their entire property and not widespread cull animals with complete disregard to their hunting seasons (which are enforced for welfare reasons) to the point where it impacts the neighbouring estates deer populations. Obviously a wild countryside would be lovely, but please, spare a thought for the communities that live there. I would love to hear others thoughts after hearing this pov.

[@lettochfilms]

That's a very thoughtful piece of writing Alex, thank you. I couldn't agree more. Doing anything without the input and support of the rural community is not an attractive option. I guess it is true, if we are to believe our scientists, that those communities will be just as adversely impacted upon by nature depletion and climate change as those in the cities. This is a national and global challenge. A shared problem. And just changing things without consideration of the impacts to people and place is not a great look. As you say, been there, done that! And yet we do need to do something. Carrying on as we are is, it would seem, not working. Wouldn't it be a marvellous thing if we could get ecologists, conservationists and rural community representatives to work on the shared challenges and come up with co-created solutions which will help rural communities thrive just as much as we need nature to. I may be living in cloud cuckoo land but just putting it in the 'too difficult' box and doing nothing is not an attractive option , and probably won't end well for any of us. Talking, listening, thoughtful debate, sharing problems and ideas, and all of us being open to change is perhaps the only way any of us get the opportunity to pass on a world worth living in to our descendants. Thanks for watching. It makes me want to explore this subject more deeply. Thank you.

[@SD-vy7gj]

Nuild a wall! Make Scotland green again!

[@lavweber]

I believe they need wolves, lynxes and bears, not fences

[@normanmurray3659]

Rowan is not a native Rowan.

[@RichardBergson]

Bring back the apex predators. We need to learn how to live with them not without them.

[@jordanbeagle5779]

Talking about how much carbon is locked up in these rich woodlands is so sad. Reducing the richness of life to how much carbon it stores is a testament to humanity’s current view of nature.

[@jackwright1954]

Great vid! New subscriber here wish I could do something to help

[@lisadolan689]

Why is the Deer (aka Venison) not being farmed? And if it’s not suitable for human consumption, then what about dog food? I find this conundrum perplexing. The deer can be humanely culled and for anyone who says they’re too spread out, have you seen an Australian pastoral property? Some are 100,000+ HECTARES. Our small paddocks are 10+ sq kilometres. That’s why we use helicopters 🚁 to muster stock.

[@Declanscatwell]

You say the grouse moors is barren land but they ain't barren they are full of wildlife unlike areas that are rewilding, carry on rewilding and you can say goodbye to your wader birds. Also the last wolf was killed near brora in 1700s

[@Johnjohn-zf1op]

So much money is spent just on fences and hunting. Wouldn't it be cheaper to bring the eco system into balance and maybe create a national park like Banff? There are huge empty areas in Scotland? Wildlife and Natur should be wild and not from humans with fences?! Crazy world😵‍💫😅 I mean really good project 👍 More fence for sheep’s and Agriculture and the rest really wild?!

[@francesconicoletti2547]

Well Scotland is not empty. It’s all owned by someone. Turning it wild involves convincing the owners its a good idea or buying the land from them and putting it aside for rewinding. I don’t see how either option is actually cheap.

[@edwarddonnelly-l7b]

eat more venison........and stop voting tory..

[@filthy-hobbit]

Stop voting for morons of all parties.

[@dawienatral7083]

the townies don't like the deer being shot,they think of Bambi.😂

[@juliegreenslade2878]

That's not their fault though. The deer are VICTIMS - victims of human mismanagement, ignorance, greed, and stupidity. It is "us" who are to blane, not the deer, not the animals, not nature.

[@stewartjones2173]

What we need is cheaper venison. Create a better market.

[@alexking1348]

Venison is ridiculously cheap in the UK.

[@stewartjones2173]

@@alexking1348 one man's cheap is another man's expensive. If it's that cheap why aren't we seeing it in supermarkets?

[@alexking1348]

@@stewartjones2173 consumer demand/taste. The vast proportion of UK venison either gets sold to the continent, or directly into restaurants which, understandably, charge a significant margin on it. There are even schemes to encourage food banks to take pre made venison meal pouches (bolognese etc), but consumers have a misconception that it is a very gamey meat, which usually it isn’t. Game dealers will only pay £1 per Kilo carcass weight for deer. If you Google where your nearest game dealer is and speak with them, you’ll be surprised at just how much cheaper than beef it is.

[@stewartjones2173]

@@alexking1348 I'm sorry!? Run that by me again. restaurants understandably charge an inflated mark-up! What? charging more than beef! Where is your understanding there? It seems to me that restaurants are giving venison a luxury profile on a cheap meat. The first time I decided to choose venison an idiot cook (no chef he) char-grilled the small portion which I reluctantly ate being starving hungry. I complained afterwards that one might as well put charcoal tablets in a pepper grinder and pepper the meat with that. So! If restaurants are taking the Mickey Bliss by queering the the pitch for venison they are doing the market no good at all.

[@alexking1348]

@@stewartjones2173 what are you suggesting? The restaurants are laughing at you whilst rolling in profits?… the hospitality sector is on its knees, it’s not their job to be forcing a market. If they can sell it for x instead of y then of course they will. The consumer drives the market - people like yourself, that will only eat it in a restaurant that is what keeps the price high. Who else do you think will ‘create a better market’? And actually - to be fair to restaurants. Most of them exclusively serve venison loin - which is, by a long shot, the most expensive cut. (The cost of two loins butchered is more than that of an entire deer in the fur - which is hard to believe I know) If you are looking for good, cheap venison. Give a game dealer a call, ask for a bone in, venison haunch (Preferably not from a stag in the rut as this will be gamey). Honestly, you will be pleasantly surprised with its quality and value.

[@lesterstanden2435]

I only watched to see why you ''need a deer fence'' but that question wasn't answered. Deer fencing is pretty new compared with the millions of years that forests have been regenerating with deer living in them. Deer aren't the problem; people who fail to manage them in the absence of their natural predators are. Mostly they are one and the same as those who advocate fencing as a solution.

[@muskett4108]

As for burning, then when the ground litter gets large enough a wild fire will burn the lot. Big heather burns hot when dry. Without managed and controlled burning then all that effort of 30/40 years will go up in smoke. At least put cattle in to chew and trample the ground litter down. These objectives are commendable, but the lack of in depth thought of what is a sophisticated subject is gobsmackingly daft in places.

[@andremarais2706]

The C word? Bye.

[@adam8642]

along with heather desert and a few other dog whistles.

[@joshhoppring5051]

We need wolves and rifles

[@janbastein7355]

Deer farming for hunting is a multi Million Dollar business in the UK and Scotland. It’s all bla bla, .

[@christopherhinton6456]

manage it for profit same old story. greed.

[@vijayagita3158]

get a pack of wolves back! it has its problems with farm animals but ...

[@keyboardoracle1044]

Or maybe you need wolves?

[@Red-Robin4]

I’m for rewilding but not if it means killing other animals there are ways to rewild without killing deer. People are always wanting to kill animals for any reason it’s not right.

[@IanPhillipsWildlife]

Deer numbers are way too high and trashing the local ecosystem, people should have never wiped out their predators, wolf and lynx reintroductions should be the solution.

[@jeffhanson1819]

You don't need a fence, you need predators!! It's called a trophic cascade!

[@lettochfilms]

Hi Jeff. That's pretty much what everybody says, and in so many ways it makes so much sense. Can't see there being any political appetite or public backing for the reintroduction of wolves anytime soon. The beaver reintroduction is incredibly contentious. Wolves would be on another level. I do find it interesting though that we have legalised the presence or otherwise of what used to be considered native species of wildlife. We humans have decided to 'take control' of the existence of certain species which either suit our current situation or don't. If they're convenient for us they can stay. If they're not we eradicate them. We have assumed the divine right to decide what's ok to be here and what isn't. I'm wondering if we're really capable, on a macro-level, of making the right choices. Up to now it seems we haven't been.