Incentivising deer management
Martin Edwards
BASC’s head of deer management Martin Edwards takes a closer look at the idea of incentivising deer management, which is just one of the proposals to come out of the England Deer Strategy consultation.
The government’s consultation on the England Deer Strategy put forward a range of proposals towards ensuring a well-managed and healthy wild deer population in England. Now closed (you can read our views here), the consultation asked for opinions on introducing incentives to reduce the impact of deer on woodland.
BASC, alongside our partner organisations, responded positively to the idea of incentivisation to undertake deer management.
Why is incentivisation beneficial?
It’s widely acknowledged that in specific areas, certain species are having a detrimental impact on woodland recovery and conservation efforts. This is where incentivisation can help towards meeting government objectives.
Tree planting is a key part of the government’s plan to combat climate change and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. They have committed up to £750 million between 2020 and 2025 to treble the amount of new woodland with a target of 30,000 hectares per year across the UK. However, all these new trees will provide the perfect cover and food for deer.
Deer protection costs the government an estimated £14.5 million per year in fencing (in some places it’s not even possible to fence) and plastic tubes. With ample public funding available, the focus could be moved from sticking a plaster on the effect, to targeting the cause of the damage, the deer.
Protecting new woodland from the damage caused by deer is generally the easier choice to take. However, a failure to control the deer shifts the burgeoning population and associated damage from one area to another.
What could an incentive scheme look like?
For the incentivisation of deer management to work there needs to be a groundswell of support from Defra. With more support comes a higher chance of success.
One option would be to incentivise deer managers to control deer through a government grant paying a premium through the Approved Game Handling Establishments (AGHEs).
One species this could be effective for is muntjac. For the majority, the carcass value of the invasive muntjac does not make it viable to cull them other than for personal consumption.
A premium paid, adjusted for deer managers’ time and costs, could change the mentality for some.
For this approach to succeed there must be an onward market for the venison produced. With government assistance (another form of incentivisation), a new consumer route could be created within public bodies, such as schools and the NHS.
What about other species, such as fallow? In some areas, a private premium for does is already being paid by landowners. This can work and should have the support of government to action through a landscape scale effort.
As featured in BASC’s response to the deer strategy consultation, extending the buck season will have no impact on reducing the population, for it is the does giving birth that increases the population.
No catch-all solution
What is clear is that no one incentivisation scheme will work for all species in all locations, and frankly, it won’t be required either. Whatever actions are taken forward need to be targeted and tackle the issue head on.
Producing a healthy deer population is a public good, and, through the countryside stewardship scheme, grants are already available for deer management.
Within the woodland creation scheme, landowners can apply for £90/hectare following the creation of an individualised deer management strategy and up to £300 for the purchase of high seats. This showcases the government’s commitment to their objective, but the general opinion is that the current grant does little to further incentivise the deer manager.
What is required is a scheme(s) that provides good value for the public, treats deer with the respect they deserve, and contributes to government objectives.
We want to hear from you
There is no one way to succeed when it comes to deer management and so we’d like to hear what you think as deer managers, landowners, foresters, game dealers on how an optimised incentive scheme could look from your perspective.
BASC will be collating these ideas with the intention of taking them to Defra and working with them to create a series of incentives that work.
If you have thoughts you’d like to share, please send your views to the deer department here.
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