New report urges action on deer management in Scotland’s rainforest

New report urges action on deer management in Scotland’s rainforest - Scottish Environment Link

Rising deer numbers are one of the biggest threats to the survival and expansion of Scotland’s globally important temperate rainforest, according to a new report.

Saving Scotland’s rainforest: managing the impact of deer highlights that although deer are a natural part of the rainforest’s ecosystem, they also represent a significant barrier to its restoration if not managed properly.

The report has been published by Scottish Environment LINK, the forum for Scotland’s voluntary environment community on behalf of its Deer Working Group, and commissioned by the Woodland Trust Scotland.

Scotland’s rainforest is found along the west coast of Scotland and is a globally rare habitat, part of sites classed as temperate rainforest. Woodland once covered large areas of the west coast, but much of this has been lost over the last two millennia – now covering just 4.8%. Factors that have contributed to rainforest decline and fragmentation include mismanagement, overgrazing by both sheep and deer and suppression of woodland by invasive non-native species

Deer numbers are at historic highs in Scotland – and while the Scottish government has devoted funding for deer management, much of this has been for deer fencing, an approach that is both expensive and often ultimately ineffective in the current way that fencing is implemented on the ground.

The report lays out the challenge at hand: to reduce deer’s negative impact on the rainforest while also retaining their key role as a natural part of its ecosystem. In order to do this, it recommends a number of measures are taken as a matter of urgency, which include:

Long-term support for deer management to be rolled out across the landscape, along with the eradication of Rhododendron ponticum, the other main threat to the survival of Scotland’s rainforest.

Developing a community approach to deer stalking and management, including the establishment of more community larders, the training of community members to participate in deer culling and venison handling and much more focus placed on the management of roe and sika deer. Traditionally, deer stalking has mostly focused on red deer. The report also encourages the promotion of rainforest employment opportunities to schoolchildren and the marketing of rainforest venison to restaurants and hospitality businesses.