We need to do more to sustainably manage deer. The UK deer population is estimated to have increased from 450,000 in the 1970s to two million today. They are now at the highest level for 1000 years.
This brings many risks and issues. It causes a substantial threat to young trees and woodlands, and therefore the government tree planting ambitions. It reduces the final timber crop value by 30-50% through browsing damage. It can cause significant crop and agricultural damage, with some individual landowners having lost over £1 million per year due to deer damage. It can also be harmful to deer themselves, with overpopulation causing malnourishment and allowing diseases to spread more easily.
We are therefore developing a deer management strategy, as we committed to do in the England Tree Action Plan. The strategy will aim to ensure that new and existing woodlands are resilient, sustainable and that wild deer populations do not cause unacceptable levels of impact to them. As part of this work, we are reviewing the evidence base, current barriers to effective management, relevant legislation, regulation and incentives as well as developing sector capacity, skills and markets. While seeking to increase the effectiveness of management, we will maintain high standards of animal welfare, humaneness, and public safety.
The design of proposals for the strategy have been guided by the broad consensus across all stakeholder audiences from the England Tree Strategy Consultation in 2020, that the deer population is a major challenge to protecting and improving our trees and woodland. All agreed that long-term sustainable solutions are required to ensure that an action plan for trees, woodland and forestry is successful in its aims.
Following on from the strong consensus opinion that a strategy is needed, the purpose of this consultation is to gather views on key proposals being considered for the deer strategy. These views will help shape the final actions that are included in the strategy. The consultation will be open from 04 August to 02 September.