Loch Katrine deer threatened.

Survival of Highland stag is threatened
by culling and starvation
Hamish Macdonell - The Times
Last updated November 1 2010 12:35AM

Scotland’s iconic red stags are facing the twin threats of culling and starvation — and two of the country’s biggest countryside quangos are to blame, according to campaigners. The Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association warned yesterday that the number of stags had fallen to crisis levels in some areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire and another severe winter could kill off the survivors. Peter Fraser, vice-chairman of the association, blamed Scottish Natural Heritage for the problem because, he said, the quango was treating stags like “vermin” and culling them to excess in an attempt to protect local plants.
Forestry Commission Scotland was also criticised yesterday for its treatment of deer. The commission was accused of condemning deer to starve after fencing off large areas of woodland surrounding Loch Katrine in The Trossachs. Residents near the loch claimed contractors working on the Great Trossachs Forest Project had fenced off large tracts of ground, excluding deer from their natural habitat.
The fate of Scotland’s stags is no less controversial than that of the 9ft Emperor of Exmoor killed in England last week. According to the Gamekeepers’ Association, the number of Scottish stags has fallen so dramatically that some estates have had to give refunds to shooters, depriving local economies of thousands of pounds.
The industry is worth £100 million a year in Scotland and nature tourism is estimated to bring in more than £1 billion annually. Mr Fraser said where it was once possible to see as many as seven herds of red deer, he was now lucky if he saw one. “We have been very short of stags,” he said, adding that this was caused by Scottish National Heritage trying to protect rare plants such as the arctic willow and Caledonian pine from over-grazing.
Scottish National Heritage said in a statement: “We view deer as an asset, not only to local communities, but also to Scotland as a whole.”
The situation around Loch Katrine is more specific, but no less serious, according to local campaigners. Residents fear that the Forestry Commission fences, placed to protect newly planted trees from being eaten by the animals, will mean that deer around Loch Katrine will “die trying to reach food and protection”.
Community representatives said there was “a fight going on” against the building of the fences. Jan Young, who lives near the loch side, said yesterday: [ “Forestry Commission Scotland might just as well issue a death sentence on these deer as they are likely to die trying to reach food and protection from the bad weather.” Forestry Commission Scotland would not comment on the issue.