SNH must take a harder line on non-cooperative landowners on deer management, the Scottish Government has urged, in order to protect habitats and help biodiversity.
An earlier report by Holyrood’s environment, climate change and land reform committee outlined changes that must be made in the way wild deer are managed, monitored and culled if Scotland is to achieve its biodiversity targets by 2020.
The report, which warned that legislation aimed at protecting the natural environment from deer impacts is not fit for purpose, found 50 per cent of deer management groups are not delivering an effective plan on the ground. MSPs also warned that SNH is failing to provide leadership in managing the damaging impact of deer.