Deer management in Scotland - Frequently Asked Questions

There are four types of deer found in Scotland - red, roe, fallow and sika deer. Red and roe deer are native species. Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans. Sika deer only became established in Scotland in the 1920s and in the last few decades their range and population size has expanded rapidly.  

Red deer

Red deer are the largest of our deer species. They are found in woodlands and on moorland, from the coast to the tops of mountains where they graze on grasses, sedges, heathers and woody species. They occur across most of Scotland but are absent from the Northern Isles and other outlying islands and some parts of the Borders. Adult males (stags) and females (hinds) typically live apart for most of the year, occupying different areas of their range and generally interacting only during the rut, when they come together to mate. Group size varies. Female groups tend to be matriarchal and led by a dominant female; she becomes obvious as the leader when the group is disturbed and moving. Generally, young hinds remain with their mother’s group; young stags disperse to group with other bachelor males. ‘Hefted’ hinds remain in a limited area of their available range throughout their lives and rarely move further than five kilometers from their birthplace. Stags range over much larger areas and may move up to 40km throughout the year.

Roe deer

Roe deer are the smallest of our deer. They are widespread on the mainland, occurring right across the country, but are absent from the Western and Northern Isles and many of the islands off the west coast including Arran and Mull. Roe are normally seen in loose family groups or as single animals. Male roe deer (bucks) are mostly solitary, whereas females (does) will be accompanied by kids most of the year. Roe prefer woodlands or farmland with permanent cover, but they are increasingly found on open moorland and in urban /suburban areas. Females occupy small (< 0.5 km2) distinct areas which may overlap. Primarily browsers, roe are selective and thrive best in woodland habitats which offer a variety of food including herbs, brambles, ivy, heather, bilberry and coniferous tree shoots.

Fallow deer

Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans around a thousand years ago. They were prized as ornamental species and were protected in royal hunting forests for royal sport. They have a patchy distribution in Scotland and while absent from much of the Highlands, there are populations on some of the Hebridean islands. Fallow deer frequent mature, broadleaf woodland with a lot of undergrowth, open coniferous woodland and open agricultural land. They browse tree shoots and agricultural crops, bringing them into conflict with farmers and foresters. However, they cause few, if any, problems to our native deer species.

Sika deer

Sika deer are not native to the United Kingdom and were brought here from Asia around 1860. Sika deer are very closely related to native red deer and pose a threat to them through interbreeding/hybridisation. Generally, hybrids tend to be the result of sika males (stags) crossing with female red deer (hinds). Although first generation hybrids may be recognisable as having the appearance of both parents, subsequent crosses are difficult to assess.

Sika deer are now established in Scotland. However, in order to keep some native red deer populations free from sika genes, islands off the west coast of Scotland have been designated as red deer refugia. Where there is local agreement, the spread of sika and the damage that they can cause to forestry and woodland will be minimised through active management, particularly through the control of pioneering stags.

Wild deer are hugely important to Scotland. Red deer in particular are one of our most iconic species and are an integral part of the Scottish landscape. They are not only popular with the people of Scotland but are also important for tourism and the rural economy. For example, income from deer management in Scotland in 2013/2014 was £17.7 million. This includes £7.5 million from the sale of deer carcasses and processed venison. Income from deer watching is currently estimated to be at least £100k.

Deer are also a source of healthy food. Deer meat, or venison, is nutritious and easy to cook. It is lower in fat than skinned breast of chicken, higher in iron than any other red meat, contains omega 3, is low in cholesterol, and is free of any antibiotics or growth promoters. Although most venison is ‘free range’, it is nevertheless subject to strict hygiene and traceability controls.

Wild deer have no natural predators and so deer management, predominantly through shooting (culling), is an important part of protecting and restoring Scotland's land and nature, as well as benefitting people and helping keep them safe. Deer are managed to meet a wide range of objectives. The main ones include:

• To prevent damage to nature, forestry and agriculture
• To restore Scotland’s woodlands and all the species that depend on them
• To help reduce road traffic collisions involving deer
• To benefit deer welfare overall
• To provide deer stalking opportunities 
• To provide a valuable and healthy food source in venison

Deer welfare is a key consideration when managing deer. The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission is involved in determining best practice and the Wild Deer Best Practice steering group has produced guidance on the humane shooting of deer. 

Wild deer are free-ranging and belong to no one, with the right to take or shoot deer associated with land ownership. So if you own the land the deer are on, you have a right to take or shoot those deer. However, red deer may travel large distances in search of food, often covering more than one land ownership. Managing red deer sustainably in the uplands therefore requires collaboration, which is made possible by voluntary deer management groups. NatureScot works with the Association of Deer Management Groups, local deer management groups and a range of partners throughout Scotland to effectively plan and implement deer management.

Deer in the lowlands and urban areas, which are predominantly roe, require a different approach. Roe deer are more solitary, secretive and territorial than red deer and land ownership patterns are more fragmented in these areas. Managing deer in the lowlands is particularly challenging, but we are working with partners such as the Lowland Deer Network Scotland and local authorities to identify priorities and to develop and implement management plans.

While the approach to deer management across Scotland is a voluntary and collaborative one, NatureScot does have statutory powers to intervene in specific circumstances – for example, when protected areas are being damaged by overgrazing.

In Scotland, wild deer do not belong to anybody while they are alive and the right to take or kill them is reserved to the landowner and other people, such as tenants. The Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 sets out when, where, how and by whom deer can be shot.

The Act also defines the periods of the year when killing of deer is permitted or not permitted. These are known as the open and close seasons respectively, and the dates vary according to the deer species. Following consultation, the Scottish Government removed the close season for male deer of all species in Scotland with effect from 21^st October 2023.

The Act also requires that only certain specifications of firearms and ammunition can be used to kill deer – to help make sure deer are shot as humanely as possible.

The close and open seasons for female deer in Scotland are:

There is no definitive figure for the size of the overall population of deer. The most recent estimates suggest that there are up to 400,000 red deer on open ground and up to 105,000 in woodlands, as well as up to 300,000 roe deer, 25,000 sika and at least 8,000 fallow deer.

However, because deer are highly mobile, living on extensive open hill ground and/or in woodland, getting a more exact estimate of populations and their trends across Scotland is complex and costly. Across the uplands, deer are typically counted from the air using helicopters and from the ground by people on foot. NatureScot is currently exploring alternative methods of counting such as using drone and fixed wing aircraft equipped with sophisticated camera technology. Estimating woodland deer numbers can be more challenging but dung counting, thermal imagery and drones can be used.

NatureScot is currently also carrying out further work to model deer populations to provide more accurate estimates of numbers and densities.

It is not just measuring the number and density of deer in an area that matters though; as the nature and scale of impacts that deer have on woodland, natural heritage, agricultural interests and public safety is of greater significance.

Globally and in Scotland, nature is in decline and we face a climate emergency. Greater urgency is required to meet the challenges of these twin crises and the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, launched in 2023, will set ambitious targets to halt nature loss by 2030 and deliver nature restoration across Scotland by 2045. We know that if we restore nature, it can also contribute over 40% of Scotland’s drive for net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Deer are an iconic species with cultural significance in Scotland and form an important part of our biodiversity. But their high numbers and lack of natural predators mean they are having a negative impact in our landscape.

These negative impacts of excessive deer numbers can be seen throughout our forests – from preventing new trees from growing to damaging existing woodland. We need to expand our forests and woodlands if we are to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, but it is simply not possible to do this if the high densities of deer are not tackled. 

Sustainable deer management is vital if we are to bring populations into balance with the rest of nature and effectively tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change through forest regeneration, woodland creation, peatland restoration and habitat improvement. Real progress has been made, but a significant reduction in wild deer numbers is required if we are to meet the ambitious but necessary targets to restore nature and reach net-zero.

Humane culling can also ensure healthy deer herds overall. When deer populations grow to high levels, competition for food increases. Climate change is increasingly causing winter precipitation to fall as rain, instead of snow, and these harsh, wet conditions make it more difficult for deer to survive without shelter. Weakened from their autumn mating activities (the ‘rut’), animals can lose condition further and can die from starvation during the tough winter months.

The Deer Working Group was an independent working group appointed by Scottish Ministers. Its role was to recommend changes to ensure effective deer management in Scotland that safeguards public interests and promotes the sustainable management of wild deer.

In its report in December 2019, the group made 99 recommendations covering changes both to the existing legislation and to non-statutory approaches to deer management. In March 2021, the Scottish Government accepted the vast majority of these recommendations.

In response to the report, the Scottish Government established and now chairs a Strategic Deer Management Board bringing together key agencies to co-ordinate, lead and support deer management work to meet the ambitions of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. The Strategic Deer Board has developed four work streams under which work is being progressed to change the way we view, use and manage deer. These are: legislation, regulation, incentives and operational delivery.

NatureScot is leading much of this work to implement the recommendations of the Deer Working Group accepted by the Scottish Government. This includes a strong focus on prioritising actions to reduce deer impacts in particular places, such as peatlands, landscape-scale woodland projects, and areas where we have identified high agricultural impact, greater risk of vehicle collisions or the highest population densities.

The Scottish Government is also currently progressing changes to the existing legislation in line with the report’s recommendations. These changes will be consulted on in early 2024 with a view to draft legislation being part of a Natural Environment Bill before the Scottish Parliament in Autumn 2024.

We know that we cannot reduce deer numbers and change deer management practices on our own. NatureScot and our partners in the Strategic Deer Board will continue to provide strong leadership, working closely with local communities, land managers and partners, and building stronger collaboration to achieve deer management goals.  

Where voluntary deer management is not achieving the required results, NatureScot will use its statutory powers to achieve what is needed to protect Scotland’s nature.

Red deer populations have remained stable since 2000 at an average of about 10 deer per km2, with some indications that the national population has declined since 2000 because of increased culling. The national mean density of red deer on open-hill ground in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in winter 2018/19 was an estimated 9.35 deer per km2. However, research has found that there are substantial differences between regions, supporting the need for varied management in different areas.

The Deer Working Group recommended that NatureScot adopt 10 red deer per km2 as an upper benchmark for acceptable densities of red deer over large areas of open range in the Highlands.

In accepting this recommendation, the Scottish Government made clear that, while a limit for red deer on open range in the Highlands is beneficial to measure progress, alongside other indicators such as deer impacts and damage, adopting a blanket density limit across Scotland would not be appropriate, as areas vary so much.

Impacts from deer occur at different densities throughout the country depending on habitat, location and time of year. It is important to note, therefore, that it is the impacts of deer that remain the primary criteria for NatureScot when deciding where to specifically target efforts and where regulatory action may be necessary, rather than the numbers alone.

Usually about 180,000 deer a year are culled across the four species resident in Scotland, a number which has remained reasonably constant in the past 20 or so years. It is estimated that meeting Scottish Biodiversity Strategy targets for 2030 and 2045 will require culling about another 50,000 deer (across all species) a year.

Authorisations can be issued by NatureScot under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 to allow individuals to cull deer in circumstances when they would not normally have the legal right to shoot them – for example, to prevent damage to agricultural crops or natural heritage.

Authorisations are required when shooting deer in the following circumstances:

• during the close season
• at night - the shooting of deer is not permitted between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise
• driving deer with vehicles - in order to take or kill for the purposes of deer management.

Applications for authorisations are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. NatureScot only issues authorisations when we are satisfied that damage from deer is occurring or is likely to occur, that reasonable efforts have been taken in season to address the problem and that there are no other means that could reasonably be taken to resolve the issue.

Deer welfare is a priority for NatureScot and something we take very seriously. The requirements for anyone culling deer at any time in Scotland are set out in detail in best practice guidance on the management of wild deer in Scotland. Any authorisation issued by NatureScot includes conditions that reinforce this best practice and authorisation also requires controllers to be assessed as fit and competent.

One of the main concerns we hear in relation to deer welfare is the culling of females in the close season. However, scientific evidence suggests that when a pregnant hind is culled the foetus is unlikely to suffer. The key welfare issue is concerned with the orphaning of dependent young. To avoid this, all authorisations issued state as a condition that sexually mature females should not be shot between 1 May and 31 August.

Deer management is an important part of the rural economy. We recognise that some people will have concerns about a shift in focus from sporting management to more conservation-based management in the long-term.

Those who live and work on the land will be vital in realising the vision of a greener Scotland. We believe that a sustained need for deer management, and the jobs and skills associated with it, will bring significant opportunities for the rural economy. This includes, for example, supporting an expanded venison industry, and promoting and supplying local venison as a high quality, healthy and sustainable product.

We will continue to work closely with local communities, land managers and partners to ensure that they can help steer and contribute their knowledge and experience to this positive and sustained change, benefitting people, deer and the environment.

Fences are sometimes used to manage deer – for example, for road safety or to protect woodlands in the short-term while they are recovering. However, depending on the situation and area, fences are expensive and do not always work. Fences can:

• restrict access for recreational users
• stop other animals from freely moving across their territories or cause welfare problems for other animals or birds (for example, birds or animals getting caught on fences)
• be unsightly to a natural landscape
• simply move a large deer population from one area to another

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to reintroduce lynx, wolves or any other large carnivore species into Scotland. Humane culling by trained professionals following best practice is therefore the key tool to ensure sustainable deer management in Scotland.

Scotland has a long-standing tradition of voluntary and collaborative deer management. We want to work with local communities, land managers and partners across Scotland to build stronger and more effective collaboration to achieve our goal of a greener future. We believe making sure everyone in the communities affected is involved and engaged is the most effective and best long-term solution in most cases. Nevertheless, NatureScot does have statutory powers to intervene in specific circumstances when necessary to protect our natural heritage, and we will take action where required to secure vital benefits for nature and climate.