Red deer cull criticised

A proposal to increase the number of red deer culled by double on the John Muir Trust?s Quinag estate in Sutherland has been criticised by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association.

Chairman Alex Hogg said: ?There can be grave consequences for neighbouring estates and communities when there is tree regeneration with insufficient or no deer fencing, leading to more and more deer being culled.?

However, the Trust?s Mike Daniels said: ?If we can get deer to a sustainable number, then we can have deer and trees living with each other without fences ? as they do in many other countries in the world.?