Woodland body Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) have defended culling red deer on land around Loch Arklet in the Trossachs.
The government body pointed out the cull was necessary because a “record high” amount of the animals is negatively affecting habitats within Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (LLTNP). It was therefore vital that numbers are reduced to protect forests, peatlands and designated sites.
FLS had been responding to a complaint from an Inversnaid resident who is concerned about the amount of deer culling being carried out in the vicinity.
After spotting deer carcasses on the B829 road to the village last Sunday afternoon, February 5, while out driving, Lee-Anne Robinson told the Observer: “Myself and three children were in my vehicle when we came across deer stalkers dragging deer carcasses across the road in front of us.
“Obviously the timing was unfortunate, but it was in plain view of passers-by on a popular tourist route. I think that’s unacceptable.”
Forestry and Land Scotland’s Aberfoyle office had told Ms Robinson last October, in a response to a complaint, that it uses professional and highly-trained deer controllers to carry out the work.
FLS stated: “All our culling practices are in line with industry best practice, the Deer Act, and are licenced by [natural heritage body] NatureScot. Deer welfare is a very high priority for FLS when conducting any culling operations with the deer culling at Loch Arklet being no different.”
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The response to Ms Robinson’s complaint to FLS, passed to the Observer, added: “Across the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and indeed much of Scotland deer are currently at record high numbers with recent evidence showing there is over one million deer currently living in Scotland.
“These record high numbers are causing large amounts of negative impacts on Scotland’s habitats including our forests, our peatlands, and our designated sites.
“This is also true for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, so it is vitally important that deer numbers are reduced to more sustainable levels to allow these habitats to thrive and improve.
“Thriving habitats, woodland expansion and healthy peatlands will also help towards the climate emergency by locking up carbon and helping reverse the trend of the climate emergency.
“FLS are working in partnership with many other landowners in the LLTNP, including the LLTNP authority, to work at a landscape scale to try and improve the habitats across the park area.
The area around Loch Arklet is part of the Great Trossachs Forest where FLS are working with local partners to create new native woodlands, restore peatlands and enhance the local biodiversity.
“To achieve this deer numbers must be controlled at a level that allows this to happen.
“Large, fenced enclosures were initially created to allow young, planted trees and regeneration to recover from deer impacts however deer fences especially at altitude are prone to damage by weather, being buried by snow and battered by high winds.
“It is therefore extremely difficult to ensure these fences are always 100% deer proof and the preferred option would be to have lower deer numbers across the park, negating the need for fencing that at times don’t fit in this landscape.
“With the fence above Loch Arklet being damaged and thus allowing large numbers of deer to move into these sensitive habitats FLS must control these deer to prevent damage and loss to the works we have already completed.
“FLS plan to further enhance the woodlands with potentially more planting of native trees and allowing regeneration to further expand.”
