The Land Reform Review Group has published its final report to the Scottish Government today. Running to more than 230 pages with 62 recommendations, the report goes into detail on topics including community land ownership, changes to the current tax system, and ways towards a ‘fairer distribution’ of land ownership.
The report addresses deer and deer management in some detail, and makes a number of recommendations over and above those as a result of the recent inquiry of the Rural Affairs Environment and Climate Change Committee, most notably the setting of culls by SNH, and that all landowners would have to apply to SNH for consent to cull deer. The report says:
The Review Group considers that Scotland’s populations of native red and roe deer are important national assets that should be sustainably managed in the public interest. The Group recommends that improvements should be made to the current statutory framework governing the hunting of deer in Scotland to ensure appropriate culls are carried out to adequately safeguard public interests.
The report however is not up to date in its conclusions on deer populations, nor with regard to the close working between SNH, ADMG and the Collaborative Deer Management Project that will underpin sustainable deer management under the voluntary principle going forward. Nor did the Land Reform Review Group consult with or take evidence from ADMG in the drawing up of its report or recommendations despite ADMG’s offer to do so.
For the full Land Reform Review Group document:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Review/land-reform/events/FinalReport23May2014