Question reference: S6W-19863
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 7 July 2023
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 August 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much deer management is currently done (a) by its agencies and (b) privately.
Answer
Deer management covers a range of work, including culling deer and other damage mitigation actions such as deer fencing which can have an effect on deer movement and impacts.
We do not hold figures for the overall breakdown of deer management actions undertaken in Scotland. However, the annual cull data collected by NatureScot, plus estimates of unreported private sector deer culls, suggests that culling estimates that in 2020-21 approximately 20% of deer culled in 2021 were culled by Scottish Government agencies and 80% by private land managers and non-governmental organisations.