Simon Johnson - Telegraph - 5th February 2010
Thousands
of deer are starving to death during Scotland’s
coldest
winter in a century, with the lucrative stag stalking industry being
put at risk.The Deer Commission for Scotland says it expects “substantial” deaths by the spring and the toll will be increased if the weather becomes wet.
Worried estate owners are expecting their worst losses in more than a decade as herds struggle to find food in the severe weather.
Some estates, such as the Queen's Balmoral home, stopped shooting hinds well before the season ends, on February 15, because of welfare concerns.
Others have culled the weakest animals struggling for survival, with stags, know as the Monarchs of the Glen, said to be worst affected.
The £105 million deer industry has already had to contend with increased poaching during the recession, prompting police to launch a new crackdown last month.
Meanwhile, gamekeepers have already warned the freezing weather has prompted thousands of grouse to abandon moor lands and killed many more.
Robbie Kernahan, the deer commission’s director said he was “very concerned” about the situation, adding: “This winter has been quite exceptional and access to forage has been a major problem. We are expecting substantial losses.
“Shooting virtually stopped in January. There are concerns that estates will not be able to meet cull targets and that the stalking economy will be badly affected too.”
Donald Fraser, the commission's deer officer for the North East, said it was the worst conditions for deer for at least a decade.
“Unless there is a thaw soon there will be a significant number of natural mortalities,” he said.
“There could be thousands. The estates are quite worried. The full effects will not be felt until the spring.
“A lot of the deaths will be later as many animals will struggle to get through this period but not have the energy and condition to survive past that.”
Red and roe deer are particularly at risk as their woodland diet of grass and heather is buried under snow and ice, and the wind chill is also harming them.
However, Mr Fraser said the main concern is over stags, which have lost a lot of body weight since the rutting season in October. Some estates are culling deer to prevent them suffering, he added.
The number of red deer alone has almost trebled to 400,000 since the mid 1960s resulting in more competition for food. There are also more than 400,000 roe deer and about 40,000 sika deer.
Richard Gledson, factor at the 50,000-acre Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, said shooting had stopped just before Christmas and no more will be carried out before the end of the hind season.
“I am sure there would have been fatalities and there will be many more,” he said.
“There has been a lot of snow cover for a long time and they are struggling. The deer are not in great condition at the moment.”
However, the wintry conditions are helping Scotland’s best snow sports athletes as they prepare for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, next month
See also:
Snow and slump spark 50% rise in deer poaching
Problems with Red Deer
Scots deer are giving up prize assets to aid China's Olympians
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