Gamekeepers oppose shooting heavily pregnant deer

Shooting pregnant deer close to when they are due to give birth could affect gamekeepers' mental health, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) has warned.

It has opposed Scottish government proposals to extend the open season on female deer as part of measures to control deer numbers and protect wood and peatlands from overgrazing.

The SGA said gamekeepers would be "sickened" by the prospect of killing a heavily pregnant hind and its large unborn calf.

The Scottish government said it wanted to get the right balance of deer in the right places, and added that animal welfare had been taken into consideration.

Recent estimates suggest there could be up to 400,000 red deer in Scotland.

It is thought there could be almost one million deer in total. The other species are roe, fallow and sika.

Public agency NatureScot said high numbers of deer were a threat to woodland regeneration, and about 180,000 animals across all the species were usually culled annually.

The SGA said gamekeepers played a role in protecting biodiversity.

But it opposed proposals to extend the season on female deer to 31 March.

A spokesman said: “The SGA Deer Group strongly believes culling and then gralloching [removing internal organs] heavily pregnant hinds with big calves represents a welfare and mental health issue for the deer manager.

"One of our deer managers still recoils, 25 years on, from culling a hind in the first week of March and having to kill the calf inside."

The Scottish government is consulting on the deer management proposals.

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said wild deer were an iconic species and a carefully managed population provided employment and social opportunities to rural communities.

She said: “Improving our natural environment and tackling the climate crisis through tree-planting, woodland regeneration and peatland restoration would not be possible without effective deer management.

"We need to get the right balance of wild deer in the right areas to maximise the environmental benefits they can bring as part of a healthy, functioning ecosystem."