Today, SGA Chairman Alex Hogg has responded to the Deer Review Panel report on Deer Management, announced by Scottish Government.
The report can be read, here, and the SGA recommends that all deer members read the report as soon as possible, giving their comments to the office, as we will be seeking urgent talks with Scottish Government. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2020/01/the-management-of-wild-deer-in-scotland-deer-working-group-report/documents/the-management-of-wild-deer-in-scotland-deer-working-group-report/the-management-of-wild-deer-in-scotland-deer-working-group-report/govscot%3Adocument/Deer%2BWorking%2BGroup%2Bfinal%2Breport%2B-%2B19%2BDecember%2B2019%2B-%2Bpublication%2Bnumber%2B%25281%2529.pdfSee the Chairman's response, here: “If Scottish Government brings in the changes it signalled with the Werritty report into grouse shooting and some of the frankly damaging recommendations for deer in this report, it may find it begins to lose the delivery support and good will of a key rural sector. “We said in our own positive Deer Vision report, published before Christmas, that our members have killed close to a million deer in Scotland in the last 10 years.
“SGA members represent a significant portion of the skilled manual labour force on the ground, who will be necessary to deliver targets, whether they be for climate or biodiversity.
“This sector is getting tired of being kicked from pillar to post and this report, which basically signals a free-for-all on an iconic Scottish species, is a further hammer blow. We will be gauging the temperature within our membership over the coming days and seeking urgent talks with Government.”
To view 'SGA Deer Vision- the 10 years ahead', go to: https://www.
*At the time the make-up of the panel was announced, The SGA told Scottish Government that it was not fully representative as it contained no one within the deer sector who was operating as a practising deer manager.
