So far, so good……
For almost 20 years, the Caenlochan area has been subject to fairly intensive deer reduction efforts, over seen first by the Deer Commission for Scotland, then Scottish Natural Heritage and now Nature Scot. The present efforts are subject to a voluntary Section 7 agreement, which aims to reduce deer numbers in the core area around Caenlochan to 10 per sq km by spring 2026, to aid a suite of upland habitats within the heavily designated area. During the 2023-24 season, targets were surpassed, and new target culls have recently been agreed for the year ahead. With other changing management priorities within the area, and a lower than average recruitment in 2024, it is possible that the target density may be attained a year ahead of schedule, or if not, the final year of the reduction cull will certainly be more easily achieved. At that point, habitat monitoring will be undertaken to check on the vegetation response, and it is likely that there will be a fresh count. The information available will then be reviewed to inform actions for the 5-10 year period ahead. The work undertaken to achieve all this can often by difficult, and requires co-ordination between different properties over a wide area, over seen by experienced Nature Scot staff. We thank everyone who is involved in trying to make this...
Read MoreThank you to Deirdre Stewart
SGDMG secretary Deirdre Stewart has recently left her position within the Group to take up new employment elsewhere. Deirdre has been a stalwart support for group members over many years, and everyone wishes her all the very best in her new endeavors, although she will still continue to live within the area and will, no doubt, keep a keen interest on what is going on. The DMG welcomes Victor Clements as secretary, Victor lives in Aberfeldy, and is also secretary and advisor to a number of other groups. His contact details are available on the Contacts page on this website.
Read MoreSouth Grampian estates ask NatureScot to make full use of its powers
Collaboration, partnership working and making full use of available powers in the legislation to make deer management work most effectively were key messages that came out from a meeting of the South Grampian Deer Management Group in late May at Kilry Hall in Angus as its members discussed the future for deer management in the area. The Group area, partly situated in the Cairngorms National Park, extends to a total of 42,613 hectares and contains some of Scotland’s most stunning and dramatic scenery stretching from Glenshee in the west to Glen Clova in the east, and from Callater and Balmoral in the north to the farmlands of Angus in the south. The northern mountains are designated to reflect their environmental importance with the Caenlochan SAC and Glen Callater SSSI at the heart of the area. However, Caenlochan, as well as being a stunning glen, has been associated with years of complex issues and conflict around competing interests with deer and their management. With the climate and biodiversity emergencies now high on the public agenda alongside food security, the deer managers in the South Grampian DMG area met with representatives from NatureScot, the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) and Association of Deer Management Groups to discuss their role in and contribution to delivering for the public interest through greater collaboration. The Group considers the challenge is essentially one of planning how the economic, social and environmental importance of deer in fragile communities can be best balanced with addressing any negative herbivore impacts and promoting habitat recovery and natural capital growth. Public interest and private interest objectives overlap to a great extent and the Group is keen to deliver for both. Future deer management planning for the Group intends to measure the important socio-economic role the deer industry plays in the rural communities of the Angus Glens and help address how this can be maintained and invigorated by future land management demands. Douglas McAdam, the independent Chairman of South Grampian Deer Management Group said: “Red deer numbers in the area from a recent count in March 2022 sit at around 6,974, down nearly 24% from a population of 9,135 in January 2019. This represents the result of sustained culling in the area over the last four years but, for the Group to achieve what is required and deliver for both the public and private interest, more needs to be done and deer numbers will have to be reduced further. However red deer are an iconic Scottish species as well as a valuable food and economic resource and this, as well as their welfare, should always remain an important underlying consideration. “To achieve this all estates in the Group area need to play their part and fulfill their deer management obligations and responsibilities. Deer management across a large area, with a highly mobile deer population crossing multiple landholdings will only work if all landholdings across the area cooperate and work collaboratively with their neighbours to manage deer aligned to common objectives.” To make this happen the Group, following a proposal from its Executive Steering Group, has formally requested NatureScot to put in place a new Section 7 Agreement that would last for five years and should cover all the relevant landholdings in the area. This new Section 7 Agreement would allow the estates, together with NatureScot and CNPA to chart a way forward in their delivery of both private and public objectives which in upland Scotland are so closely intertwined. The Group was very clear with NatureScot that if any landholdings do not cooperate in fulfilling their responsibilities then it would expect...
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