New food safety films for venison sector now online
Three food safety films specifically to highlight potential high risk areas of contamination in the venison food chain are now available online. The three films, titled Field dressing a roe buck, The gralloch on the hill, and Essential red deer larder work have been produced by the Scottish Venison Partnership, Scottish Quality Wild Venison, and Scottish Natural Heritage (Best Practice Guides) in order to increase awareness about contamination risks and steps that can be taken to prevent this. The three films, made by Pace Productions, will be shown at two special workshops for stalkers and...
Read MoreRural organisations write to Scottish Government highlighting concerns over return of sporting rates
Rural organisations have written to Scottish Government Cabinet Secretaries setting out their concerns for the sector following the reintroduction of non-domestic rates on shootings and deer forests. Scottish Land & Estates, Confor, Scottish Countryside Alliance, NFU Scotland, BASC, ADMG, and SACS have written a joint letter to Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, and Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution. The letter expresses concern that the re-introduction is being rushed, Assessors have not had time or resource to implement the...
Read MorePilot deer management project to north of Glasgow needs deer managers to get in touch
Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is currently undertaking work for Scottish Natural Heritage to better understand current models of lowland deer management in relation to the delivery of public interests. SRUC is collating relevant information to develop a deer management database for a 950 km2 pilot study site to the north of Glasgow, bounded by the main trunk roads and Loch Lomond to the west and Stirling to the east (see map below – click to enlarge). The area includes a mix of land uses and landownership types typical of lowland and peri-urban areas and includes areas of commercial...
Read MoreScottish Deer Health Survey 2017 – 19
Deer stalkers and deer managers across the uplands and lowlands are being encouraged to take part in the Scottish Deer Health Survey, possibly the largest research programme ever of this type in the UK, to establish the prevalence or otherwise of a number of health risks across all of Scotland’s wild deer species. The research project, which runs over two years and is funded by Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government, is being undertaken by the Moredun Research Institute and Edinburgh University, and is supported by Scotland’s wild deer sector, the Association of Deer...
Read MoreReview of deer management in Scotland
On 29 June 2017, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, made her announcement about what happens next for deer management in Scotland. This followed the Deer Management Review, which comprised the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) 2016 Assessments of Deer Management Groups and its subsequent report, the review by the Scottish Parliament’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee and its report, and the debate in the Scottish Parliament. The Board of SNH also met on 29 June to discuss its next steps. The Cabinet Secretary’s statement can be seen...
Read MoreECCLR Committee – report on deer management
In April, the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament published its report on deer management in Scotland. This followed its evidence -taking sessions on the 2016 Scottish Natural Heritage report on the same subject. This report goes to the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Roseanna Cunningham MSP. Having assessed its content she will then respond for the Government. The Committee’s full report can be accessed here or by using the link in the right hand...
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