Stalker numbers could be halved by “flawed” deer Bill

The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill

A Scottish Parliament committee has supported legislation that would reform deer management in Scotland, but shooting and gamekeeping organisations have raised major concerns.

The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill aims to change decades-old legislation governing how deer are managed across Scotland, against a backdrop of rising deer numbers and their impact on habitats.

The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 30 September published its report backing the Bill’s general principles, whilst acknowledging significant concerns from land managers.

Giving NatureScot new deer management powers

The most contentious proposal would give NatureScot new powers to intervene in deer management specifically for “nature restoration” – a concept that remains undefined in the Bill itself.

Currently, NatureScot can only compel landowners to act when deer are causing damage to land or threatening public safety.

The Bill would create a separate ground allowing intervention in deer management to restore nature, even where no damage is occurring. This could mean landowners being ordered to prepare management plans, enter formal agreements or face compulsory control schemes specifying measures including deer culls.

Terms and conditions to be defined next year

If landowners failed to comply, they might have to pay for work carried out by NatureScot contractors, or face a fine or even prison, the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association fears.

“It is not yet clear how NatureScot would choose to wield this power,” the SGA said, describing the provisions as “unnecessary” and warning of “high potential to erode trust within the deer sector”.

The Parliamentary committee said the powers were needed to meet environmental targets but recognised the sector’s concerns about how they would operate in practice. Crucially, the criteria for when NatureScot could intervene won’t appear in the Bill itself but in a code of practice due for consultation next spring.

Mandatory training for deer management

Another major change outlined in the Bill would require deerstalkers to undergo mandatory training and register with NatureScot, ending decades of voluntary self-regulation. BASC strongly opposes this provision, arguing there is “no empirical evidence that it is needed”.

Peter Clark, BASC’s Scotland director, said the committee’s report “highlights the many significant flaws” in the Bill, warning it “risks placing heavy burdens on deer managers without clear measures of success or proper financial support”.

He added: “Mandatory training is contentious and, if rushed, could halve the number of stalkers available to manage Scotland’s deer population.”

The committee backed compulsory training but asked ministers how experienced stalkers without formal qualifications could be accommodated through “grandfather rights” or referee schemes.

Further deer management provisions

A further provision in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill would also add “safeguarding the public interest” to NatureScot’s aims and purposes regarding deer management, though this term also isn’t defined in the legislation.

Scottish Land and Estates told the committee this was “so woolly and subjective that it would be relatively easy for NatureScot to justify any form of regulatory intervention”.

The committee agreed a definition should be included in the code of practice.

Next steps

Parliament must vote on the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill’s principles before 31 October. Both BASC and the SGA say they will seek amendments at stage two.

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