Year-round season for male deer rejected

The vast majority of respondents rejected the proposed abolition of a close season for deer

By Selena Masson

Wednesday, 03 March 2010

The Scottish Government has published the responses to its consultation on proposed reforms to existing wildlife laws,/strong>

More than eight out of 10 respondents to the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals to reform existing wildlife laws have rejected the controversial proposal to legalise shooting male deer all year round.

Scottish ministers commissioned EnviroCentre Ltd and CAG Consultants Ltd to analyse the 456 consultation responses they received last year on the proposed Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill. The results show strong support for abolishing the game licence, but not for introducing mandatory testing of deerstalkers.

BASC Scotland’s press and policy officer Nicolle Upton told Shooting Times: “It came as no surprise when the analysis showed the majority of respondents were in favour of retaining close seasons as they are. We need to remind ourselves that the seasons were only going to be changed if and when all stalkers were required to ‘demonstrate skills and knowledge’.”

The rest of this article appears in 3rd March issue of Shooting Times.