Managing deer for climate and nature: consultation

Theme 6: Kept and farmed deer

Overview

The proposals in this theme seek to address issues with the welfare of wild, kept and farmed deer by taking forward the following recommendations from the DWG:

Recommendation 25: The Animals (Scotland) Act 1987 should be amended to establish clearly that an owner or occupier of land can shoot a stray farmed deer on that land to prevent damage by the deer, where that is the only reasonable practical means in the circumstances to detain the stray deer under the Act.

Scottish Government Response: The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Rationale: Stray farmed deer carry a risk of transmitting disease to wild deer which could then enter the food chain, or be transmitted through wild deer populations. Shooting stray farmed deer may be the most appropriate method of protecting public health and ensuring deer welfare. We considered the SAWC findings alongside this recommendation and agree that shooting stray farmed deer may be in the best interest of wild deer populations by reducing transmission of disease.

Recommendation 27: The Scottish Government should give serious consideration to the introduction through the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, of a scheme to require an owner of deer to have a licence for the keeping of deer as private property that are not farmed deer, deer in zoos nor muntjac deer.

Scottish Government Response: The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Rationale: The Scottish Government recognises that licensing would ensure assessment of the circumstances in which the deer would be kept and granting the licence would identify the owner’s responsibility for the deer’s health and welfare.

When developing this licensing system consideration will be given to whether venison from these deer should be restricted from entering the human food chain

Recommendation 28: Either the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 or the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 should be amended so that any release of captive red deer and captive roe deer into the wild requires to be authorised by NatureScot.

Scottish Government Response: The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

Rationale: The Scottish Government agrees that captive red deer or roe deer should only be released into the wild under authorisation from NatureScot. Alongside the DWG, the SAWC draw attention to the ethical and welfare concerns of taking and releasing wild deer, particularly stress of capture and translocation which is potentially more harmful than direct shooting or humane killing. The Scottish Government agree that further regulation is required.

Background

The vast majority of deer in Scotland are free living in the wild and they are the primary focus of this consultation and our current and future deer management plans. However, there are also populations of deer in Scotland which are kept in captivity, for example farmed deer kept as livestock for the purpose of producing venison. The deer working group therefore also considered and made recommendations regarding the management of captive deer.

Farmed deer

The DWG reports that there were just over 8,000 deer on farms recorded in the 2017 agricultural census. The deer were on 97 holdings spread across the eight agricultural census regions and current farmed venison production is around 70 tonnes a year.

The report noted that the increase in farmed deer in Scotland is –

“expected to grow significantly over the next decade. This is due to the positive market for farmed venison, the current eligibility of farmed deer for farm support payments, and farmers’ concerns about the prospects for some other livestock sectors.”

This predicted increase in the number of farmed deer is reflected in the results from the June 2023 Scottish Agricultural Census which states there are now 14,890 farmed deer in Scotland.

The DWG report found that -

“…there is a continuing history of red deer escapes from deer farms.

“These deer may not always be re-captured or killed following an escape, and become what can be regarded as ‘feral red deer’ with their mixed genetic breeding.”

There are also longstanding concerns that the escapes can increase the risk of spreading diseases such as tuberculosis into wild populations, while also introducing further mixed origin genetic material. The DWG report also highlighted that -

“…There has also been a particular concern over escapes from deer farms in those parts of Scotland designated as refuges for native stock of wild red deer…”

Deer kept for purposes other than farming

As well as deer which are kept as livestock, there are also deer which are kept in captivity for other reasons for example deer kept on zoos/children’s farms, or deer enclosed on private property.

Species of kept deer in Scotland include both native deer species and non-native species such as European forest reindeer, muntjac deer, and white-lipped deer.

A licence is already required to keep certain species of animal in Scotland, such as bison, camels moose or caribou under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, primarily to protect public safety. However, except for Muntjac deer, which are classified as a non-native invasive species under schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, a licence is not required to keep other species of deer in Scotland.

The DWG report noted that -

• “There are deer in Scotland which are owned as private property, like farmed and zoo deer, but which do not conform to either of those categories of deer and which are therefore not covered by those regulatory regimes. These other deer are kept in a wide variety of circumstances and include species that occur in the wild in Scotland and other non-native deer species that have been legally acquired.”
• “…that there should be further work to identify privately owned deer in Scotland which are neither farmed deer nor deer in zoos. These other kept deer should be being kept under the terms of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and related legislation. However, improved information is needed to ensure more accountability over the standards of the health and welfare under which these other privately owned deer are being kept.
• “Deer are relatively large, sentient animals and the Group considers that, while attention is paid in the public interest to the welfare of farmed deer and deer in zoos, and to the welfare of wild deer in the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, it is an anomaly that other deer can be kept as private property without more transparency and accountability.
• “Improved identification and monitoring of these other privately owned deer would also assist in the management of diseases that affect deer. There would also be benefits if these kept deer required to be tagged..”

To address all of these issues the DWG made the following recommendations:

• Recommendation 25: Animals (Scotland) Act 1987 should be amended to establish clearly that an owner or occupier of land can shoot a stray farmed deer on that land to prevent damage by the deer, where that is the only reasonable practical means in the circumstances to detain the stray deer under the Act.
• Recommendation 27: The Scottish Government should give serious consideration to the introduction through the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, of a scheme to require an owner of deer to have a licence for the keeping of deer as private property that are not farmed deer, deer in zoos nor muntjac deer.
• Recommendation 28: Either the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 or the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 should be amended so that any release of captive red deer and captive roe deer into the wild requires to be authorised by NatureScot.

The DWG also made the following recommendations relating to the marking of farmed and kept deer.

• Recommendation 24: Section 43 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1987 should be amended at the end of the definition of farmed deer in s.43(4) to include 'and be clearly marked to show they are kept as such'.
• Recommendation 26: There should be a legal requirement for all deer that are owned as private property and not farmed deer or deer in zoos, to be tagged to identify them as private property.

The Scottish Government accepted those proposals in principle but is still considering how best to implement them and therefore we have not included questions on these recommendations in this consultation. We will set out proposals for the marking of kept and farmed deer at a later date.

Scottish Government Proposals

We agree with conclusions of the DWG and the rationale for their recommendations on kept deer, we therefore intend to adopt recommendations 25 to 29.

We are proposing the following:

Recommendation 25: We will propose legislative change to permit landowners/land mangers/managers of livestock to shoot stray farmed deer on their land in the certain prescribed circumstances, for example:

• To prevent damage to agriculture
• To prevent the spread of disease to livestock
• To prevent the spread of disease to wild deer

However, such action will only be permitted if circumstances where other approaches for example driving the deer from the land or capturing the deer would not be practicable or effective.

Recommendation 27:

We are proposing that anyone who keeps deer in Scotland (unless the deer are being kept in a zoo or as farmed livestock) should require a licence to secure the welfare of the kept deer.

The introduction of a statutory licensing scheme will set minimum standards that all licence holders must comply with and ensure that individuals who wish to keep deer are, for example:

• subject to appropriate checks before being granted a licence
• subject to periodic inspection by local authorities
• suitably experienced and/or qualified to keep deer
• accountable when licence conditions are breached or animal welfare is compromised

As is already the case for the licensing of other activities involving animals in Scotland, the conditions that would need to be complied with will be set out in legislation. The licensing authority (likely to be local authorities) would have powers to add additional conditions of licence, but only where it considers it necessary to ensure the welfare of animals kept under the licence..

It will be an offence for anyone to keep deer without a licence and the licensing authority will be able to revoke licences in the event that the licence holder fails to comply with the conditions of the licence.

Whilst not an exhaustive list, it is proposed that a future statutory licensing scheme for deer keepers would:

• Allow the licensing authority to charge a fee for the consideration of a licence application and grant of licence.
• Allow the licensing authority to vary, suspend or revoke a licence as appropriate due to the actions or conduct of a licence holder.
• Provide an appeals mechanism for applicants or licence holders aggrieved by a decision by the licensing authority.

A zoo is defined under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 as being 'an establishment where wild animals are kept for exhibition ... to which members of the public have access, with or without charge for admission, seven or more days in any period of twelve consecutive months'.

As any zoo in Scotland displaying wild animals that are not normally domesticated in Great Britain is subject to licensing and inspection under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, we are proposing that they will be exempt from this licensing scheme.

Likewise anyone keeping deer as livestock is already subject to regulation under the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2010, in addition to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 which applies to all kept deer. We are therefore not proposing that anyone keeping deer as livestock will require to be licensed under this scheme.

Recommendation 28:

We are proposing that anyone who wishes to release captive red and roe deer into the wild should require authorisation and that:

• The authorising body should be NatureScot.
• When considering whether to grant an authorisation for the release of red and roe deer, NatureScot should have regard to a code of practice on the release of captive deer.

The Code of Practice will be developed by NatureScot in conjunction with stakeholders including landowners/managers, animal welfare organisations and conservation bodies.

Consultation Questions

Question: Do you agree with our proposals that the owner or occupier of land should be allowed to shoot stray farmed deer on that land in order to prevent damage by the deer, providing there is, by their assessment, no other reasonable or practical way to contain the deer?

Answer options:

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

Question: Do you agree with our proposals that anyone wishing to keep deer as private property (i.e. not for the purpose of farming or as an exhibit in a zoo) should require a licence to protect the welfare of those deer?

Answer options:

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

Question: If you do not support the introduction of licensing for kept deer, what further action, if any, would you recommend to protect their welfare?

Text Box

Question: Do you agree with our proposals that anyone seeking to release captive red or roe deer into the wild in Scotland should require authorisation from NatureScot, for example, deer which may have been caught and monitored for research purposes? This would also allow us to gain a better understanding of when and why people want to release captive red or roe deer into the wild.

Answer options:

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

Question: If you do not agree with our proposals that anyone releasing red or roe deer should require authorisation, what, if any, further actions would you recommend to ensure they do not cause damage to habitats, or pose a risk to wild deer populations?

Text Box: Please provide any further comments on the proposals set out in this section here