Category: News and Events

There have not been drought conditions like this for many years. In many parts of the country all fuel layers have become ‘available to burn’. There has been no significant rain for a long time, with a consequent continuing increase in fire danger. We are now also in the main holiday period with many people out enjoying the countryside.

The assessment is that the level of fire danger is now extreme. This will continue until Sunday  8 July, for the whole of Scotland. There is light rain forecast initially for north-west and then west Scotland by Monday 9 July, which should provide some relief there. However eastern and southern Scotland have a continuing drought.

This means that there is the potential for extreme fire behaviour, should there be ignitions, especially in grassland, gorse, moorland and forest habitats. There will also be potential for re-ignitions and significant smouldering. So all phases of fire suppression: knock-down, containment and mop-up and patrol will be important. Increasing thought needs to be given to dry fire fighting techniques.

Although the news has focused on the very large Saddleworth moor and Bolton fires there have also been very large fires in Wales, Northern Ireland in Scotland as well.

With these conditions extreme caution is advised.

If you have High Fire Risk signs now would be a good time to put them up; also consider checking known problem areas and having equipment prepared.

Conditions for anyone tackling any fires will also be very difficult and de-hydration could become an issue. Provision of water will be essential.

This is the latest Wildfire Danger Assessment for the period 4 – 11 July 2018

Three food safety films specifically to highlight potential high risk areas of contamination in the venison food chain are now available online.  The three films, titled The gralloch on the hill, Essential red deer larder work, and Field dressing a roe buck have been produced by the Scottish Venison Partnership, Scottish Quality Wild Venison, and Scottish Natural Heritage (Best Practice Guides) in order to increase awareness about contamination risks and steps that can be taken to prevent this.  The three films, made by Pace Productions, will be shown at two special workshops for stalkers and deer managers on Friday 29 June at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair this summer with opportunities for discussion and questions around this and related meat hygiene issues. The films can be seen on the Scottish Venison Youtube channel here.

ADMG is warning that, given the recent cold spell and conditions through the winter months, there is a possibility of higher deer mortality this spring than in recent milder winters.

Richard Cooke, Chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, says:

We have heard from some Deer Management Groups that deer in their areas were found to be in poor condition during the hind season and this cold spell will be hard for them, particularly if it now turns wet. Often it is the last few weeks before the grass starts to appear on the hill that leads to losses particularly of last year’s calves; also mature stags which use up most of their body condition in the breeding season in the preceding October and November can succumb.  Hinds tend to be more resilient. The thinner skinned roe deer are also susceptible to hard weather.

Winter losses are a natural process for wild deer, particularly in a year such as this but, by selectively removing the older and poorer individuals, management culling undoubtedly reduces natural mortality.  The Scottish red deer population is now beginning to decline due to culling effort, as found in the James Hutton Institute report to SNH in 2017, and the overall health status of our red deer is generally good and within the carrying capacity of their range, but hard weather takes its toll as it does on all birdlife and wildlife.

Our request to the hill-going public is please to give deer a wide berth to avoid imposing further stress. Also, we would urge particular caution on the roads as deer naturally seek shelter on lower ground in hard times and are a potential hazard for motorists.

Rural organisations have written to Scottish Government Cabinet Secretaries setting out their concerns for the sector following the reintroduction of non-domestic rates on shootings and deer forests.

Scottish Land & Estates, Confor, Scottish Countryside Alliance, NFU Scotland, BASC, ADMG, and SACS have written a joint letter to Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, and Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution. The letter expresses concern that the re-introduction is being rushed, Assessors have not had time or resource to implement the reintroduction satisfactorily, and it is rural businesses and communities that will suffer the consequences.

The organisations have welcomed further dialogue with the Scottish Government and seek the consideration of how unintended impacts on policies, such as those regarding deer management and forestry, can be mitigated.  Breathing space would allow businesses to plan while accuracy of valuations is established through the appeals process and the Scottish Government can undertake impact assessments which would fulfil their commitment set out during the Bill stages.

It is hoped this collaborative working and engagement will help with the understanding of how this reintroduction is unintentionally detrimentally affecting rural areas.

Deer stalkers and deer managers across the uplands and lowlands are being encouraged to take part in the Scottish Deer Health Survey, possibly the largest research programme ever of this type in the UK, to establish the prevalence or otherwise of a number of health risks across all of Scotland’s wild deer species.

The research project, which runs over two years and is funded by Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government, is being undertaken by the Moredun Research Institute and Edinburgh University, and is supported by Scotland’s wild deer sector, the Association of Deer Management Groups, the Lowland Deer Network Scotland and the Scottish Venison Partnership.

The initiative was launched at the ADMG meeting at Glenfinnan in August with a follow-up session for low ground land managers at the LDNS meeting later in the month. Its objective is to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157, Cryptosporidium and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the Scottish wild deer population, all species, upland and lowland.

Alerted to the risk of E. coli O157 in processed wild venison products in an outbreak in 2015, scientists suspect that its actual prevalence may be very low in Scottish wild deer.  However, the Scottish venison industry, which is helping to meet a healthy and ever increasing demand for venison products in the UK, would benefit from having this verified, along with information on which stages of the venison production process carry higher risks of potential contamination from E. coli.

It is intended that this research once concluded can help to inform current Best Practice guidelines for processing of carcasses and reduce any risk to human health, and is considered a vital part of the knowledge bank if the industry is to continue to grow and develop.

The research project will also involve screening faecal samples for the parasite Cryptosporidium and rectal tissue samples for CWD, both of which are currently seen as risks to deer health and welfare.  CWD is especially prevalent in certain states in the USA and has been reported in Scandinavia where it was diagnosed in moose, and in March 2016 in wild reindeer from the Nordfjella mountain area in Norway resulting in a Government order to cull the herd and a quarantining of the ground.

For the research project, sample collection is a simple process that can be done at the time of the gralloch or in the larder. It is hoped that more than 1000 faecal and tissue samples will be collected from all deer habitat across Scotland including the islands in order to provide the broadest picture of where risk from such issues may be highest.

Further detail about the research project and the sampling protocol is available here:
Scottish Deer Health Survey
Sampling protocol

For more information contact Tom McNeilly (Tom.McNeilly@moredun.ac.uk) or Beth Wells (beth.wells@moredun.ac.uk) tel. 0131 445 6157.

ADMG does not in principle oppose the use by SNH of its statutory powers as a last resort where a DMG is unable to bring all of its members into collaborative management conforming to an agreed Deer Management Plan.

SNH was criticised by some during the recent deer sector review for not using all of its 1996 Deer (Scotland) Act powers, mainly Section 8 Control Schemes, in circumstances where such a course of action might have been justified.

SNH has now determined to take a more assertive approach and is clearly seeking candidate landholdings associated with designated sites in unfavourable condition where it can test its full array of statutory powers.  ADMG reiterates that any such actions must be based on clear and undisputed evidence both of failure to take effective remedial measures on habitats in unfavourable condition, and of evidence of underperformance by the landholdings concerned.

In the case of Assynt there is a general recognition of a longstanding failure of collaborative management in addressing the condition of a protected site.  However, over the last year the Assynt Peninsula DMG has developed a draft Deer Management Plan and we understand that there are early signs of progress, not least in the recovery of the birch woods.  We would be concerned if the testing of Section 8 of the 1996 Act in Assynt were to undermine a recovering DMG.

Further context and comment on the Assynt situation is available here:

Deer Management on the Assynt Peninsula SNH Board Paper, 30 June 2017
The Assynt deer argument – what is it all about? A report by Victor Clements, July 2017

Note: ADMG welcomes contributed articles and opinions. In that respect, views expressed on the ADMG website, and in links, may not necessarily reflect the views of ADMG.

ADMG had a really good three days at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair from 30 June to 2 July with a busy stand, shared with LDNS, which this year focused on Deer Management Planning and Habitat Impact Assessments. There was a good level of interest from both members and the general public and some useful conversations with Agencies and others including a visit from the new Chair of SNH Mike Cantlay.  The first day of the event fell the day after Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, had given her direction to what happens next for deer management (see previous news post) and the SNH Board had agreed its future approach.

One undoubted highlight at Scone was the Fred Taylor Memorial Trophy for Working Hill Ponies, staged on Fair Sunday.  This was won this year by Eric Starke with Mia in a fantastic entry of 19 ponies. The event was sponsored by Rigby, who presented a Highland Stalker .275 rifle with Leica Visus scope to the winner.  Eric also received a prestigious Bronze Medal from the Highland Pony Society. All entrants received a bottle of Rigby 18 year Old Single Malt.

Great credit must go to all the estates, ghillies and ponies that took part, many of whom had travelled a considerable distance, and who all contributed to a terrific spectacle when the sun came out and the clouds gave way to blue sky to add that extra special touch.

 

Today, 29 June, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, made her announcement about what happens next for deer management in Scotland. This followed the Deer Review, which comprised the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) 2016 Assessments of Deer Management Groups and subsequent Report, the review by the Scottish Parliament’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee and a debate in the Scottish Parliament.

The Board of SNH also met today to discuss its next steps.

Following the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement, Richard Cooke, Chairman, the Association of Deer Management Groups (ADMG), said:

“The upland deer sector is committed to progressive change and will work with other interests in developing and implementing new approaches to deer management which plays an important role in the rural economy and rural employment in the remoter parts of Scotland. Thus we welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s decision to set up an independent group to support the deer sector as it moves forward.

“We are pleased to note the Cabinet Secretary’s recognition in her statement of the progress made by the deer sector over the last two years, particularly as this was somewhat understated in the 2016 SNH Report. Deer Management Groups, having adopted new deer management plans which take account of all relevant aspects of the public interest, are now turning their attention and efforts to setting up systematic habitat monitoring across the upland deer range. Hopefully this will result in a more informed debate on the habitat impact of deer along with other herbivores, especially sheep, rather than focusing on deer numbers and densities alone, as has mostly been the case in the recent review process.

“We agree with the Cabinet Secretary that more legislative action is not necessary at this time and support her direction to SNH to use existing statutory powers as a back stop for the voluntary approach in situations where deer management is falling short. We have no difficulty with a more assertive approach by SNH but will expect any such last resort action to be justified on the basis of firm evidence.”

The Cabinet Secretary’s statement can be seen here .
The SNH Board papers including a paper An Enhanced Approach to Deer Management and another on Deer Management of the Assynt Peninsula can be seen here.

To let by Scottish Natural Heritage – a unique opportunity to manage the annual cull of around 60 stags for 5 years, over approximately 9,000 hectares on Rum National Nature Reserve.

To be let from 2018 to 2022.

Interested parties are invited to submit an expression of interest in writing to the Project Manager, Lizzie Richards via email: Lizzie.richards@snh.gov.uk or post to SNH, Dingwall Business Park, Fodderty Way, Dingwall, IV15 9XB, by 31 May 2017.

Please include a main contact name, address, email address and phone number. If you are responding on behalf of a syndicate or consortium, please provide similar details for all other syndicate/consortium members.

Full tender documents will be issued to interested parties by 9 June 2017.