Will tree mania kill Scottish deer stalking?

Niall Rowantree and Dr Cathy Mayne go hindstalking with heavy hearts. They have to help bring down deer numbers so that Scottish landowners can plant trees. But is this mania for treeplanting self-defeating? Cathy looks at the science and Niall tells the story from a deer manager’s perspective.
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Why shoot deer?
There are more than two million red, roe, fallow, sika, muntjac and Chinese water deer in Britain’s countryside and semi-urban areas, the highest level for 1,000 years. Numbers have doubled since 1999, according to the Deer Initiative, the UK government’s deer agency.
Deer are an attractive and an important part of our wildlife. However, they have no natural predator in the UK so numbers must be sensibly and strategically managed to keep them in balance with their habitat and to prevent damage to crops, trees, woodland flora, gardens and other wildlife.
Deer cause £4.5 million-worth (Forestry Commission Scotland) of damage to plantations and other commercial woodlands in Scotland. Crop damage is estimated at £4.3m a year according to DEFRA, with the greatest damage on cereal crops in east and south-west England.
More than 8,000 hectares (Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology) of woodland with SSI status is currently in ‘unfavourable’ or ‘recovering’ condition due to deer impacts such as browsing and fraying. Deer can also influence the variety of wildlife in woodlands and other habitats by altering structural and plant species diversity. According to the University of East Anglia’s Dr Paul Dolman, that has resulted in a 50% decline in woodland bird numbers where deer are present, impacting particularly on nightingales, blackcaps, chiffchaffs and warblers.
Deer are susceptible to Bovine TB and may be responsible for the transmission of TB to cattle. They are also the likely driver behind the UK’s increasing tick population (Scharlemann et al 2008).
Happily, venison is a delicious meat. It is wild, natural and free range, and - almost fat-free - it is one of the healthiest meats available today. Results from research commissioned by the Game-to-Eat campaign (Leatherhead Food International Research 2006) suggest that there are real health benefits to eating game. Venison is high in protein, low in saturated fatty acids and contains higher levels of iron than any other red meat.
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[@exploreseafaring]

In a world with increasing numbers of groups, agencies, associations, local, national and international government organizations; chaos ensues.

[@tomjones7593]

What a fascinating programme; wish I'd seen it earlier as I could have discussed it with the stalker I had last time out; I THINK what I take from this is; 1. They should put that gentleman in charge of wildlife at Holyrood (Westminster ?) 2. As I suspected the 'carbon offset' is in many cases a publicly funded racket-can't do other than add to 'acidification' in my view (that seems to have gone out of fashion as a topic !) As an aside I don't think anything done in the UK will make a gnat's of difference anyway so let's just manage our wild lands as history has taught us- Mid Wales included ! Thanks anyway-Tom

[@b_uppy]

Put fencing around trees to protect them from deer until they're well established, since Scotland lacks the predators needed to keep the deer moving. Using dogs to move the deer along helps the trees, too. The deer actually help restore habitat for the trees. You can have both...

[@JohnJohnson-xw5dg]

Great thought provoking video. This information needs to be more widely distributed. There are thoughts that all Scotland can sustain unlimited tree cover. Not true there are areas that are just not suitable for trees.

[@ddoherty5956]

Really interesting video about the deer, completely different league to the corporate advert ones.

[@beef5030]

The UK is one of the most nature deprived countries, and continues to loose habitats. The idea that any part of Scotland is wild is a joke. No predators and forrests that are the size of a parking lots. Historical and ecological evidence is conclusive about how large the old growth forest were, before they were clear cut and huge estates were created. Rewilding has the potential to transform Scotland back to its formerly wild self. Its such a shame to have experienced actuall wilderness with grizzlies and wolves, then to come to the UK and see the current conditions. That people see it as normal and the way it "should" be.

[@sandrews1767]

Very interesting video I would love to do deer management one day

[@ddoherty5956]

Forestry rangers all got a couple of chest freezers each by any chance?🤔

[@YouTubestolemylife]

Respect to the guys

[@colinjohnston5465]

If Dr Cathy Mayne was a teacher (and she maybe should be for our SEN policy makers), you know she would have no nonsense in her classroom. She is really very good.

[@colinjohnston5465]

On the pest control point, I think estates that don't go mad, and aren't sandwiched in between the Scandi green zealots and LFS ground, they can still have viable deer stalking which people will pay a premium for because it is more scarce. Fewer opportunities to shoot in Scotland = higher price tag. The downside is there will be less opportunity for those that aren't quite as well heeled as the Scandi-greens that are buying up vast tracts of the country.