{"id":15819,"date":"2017-01-14T09:08:59","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T09:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=15819"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:45:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:45:56","slug":"bare-hill-of-the-hind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/bare-hill-of-the-hind\/","title":{"rendered":"Bare hill of the hind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/images\/by-david2.JPG\" alt=\"David Lintern\" width=\"150\" height=\"170\" \/><em>Are deer eating us out of house and home? David Lintern weighs the evidence in the latest battle for the heart of the beast.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Red Deer may be Scottish icons, but they represent much more than a shortbread tin version of our beautiful country. They are at the heart of an ongoing struggle over land use and ownership, symbolic of our nature both wild and tamed, and are emblematic of the often-ambiguous relationship with the ground under our feet. And lest we forget in a sea of tourist (card)board cutouts and political metaphors, they are also real, physical animals\u2026 over which diverse social, economic and conservation interests battle furiously. You\u2019re about to hear a whole lot more about deer\u2026 and not just from me.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15820\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15820\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1-Sparring-stags-in-Glen-Etive.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15820\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sparring stags in Glen Etive<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Following a big review of deer management practice produced by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in December 2016, the Scottish parliament discussed it\u2019s findings. A committee is due to make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform &#8211; Roseanna Cunningham MSP &#8211; shortly. The report was the latest in a body of work stretching back over decades which has tried to grasp the nettle on deer overpopulation, which conservation organisations maintain is currently at epidemic proportions. <\/p>\n<p>What does an \u2018epidemic\u2019 look like? Watch this short clip\u2026<\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/196304477' frameborder='0' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>This film, from a hill walk near Glenshee, was kindly shared by walker and climber Brian Shackleton. Brian\u2019s experience was recently reported in the Press and Journal as a \u2018breathtaking\u2019 and \u2018remarkable\u2019 natural spectacle, but there is nothing natural about the presence of this many animals in one place. They may, as the article suggested, group together when storms approach, but the area is currently under a section 7 agreement, which means there is an acknowledged issue with deer overpopulation that SNH and local estates are trying to resolve.<\/p>\n<p>When I showed his video to friends and family, their reactions were telling: \u201cLike rodents\u201d one said. \u201cVermin with antlers.\u201d said another. \u201cThat can\u2019t be right\u201d said a third. All understandable, instinctive reactions. I\u2019d challenge even the most strident estate manager to tell us that this was a population at a volume that our countryside could support. But it\u2019s not the deer\u2019s fault. I\u2019ve learnt more about the land from following deer tracks and stalking paths than I have from any other being &#8211; on two legs or four. They have kept vigil on many of my walks, especially when going quietly and solo into the hills on extended trips. I have escaped troubling terrain traps on their thin winding trails and marvelled at the sound of the rut on the hill. They are truly magnificent and majestic creatures. But we\u2019re not looking after them properly.<\/p>\n<h4>What\u2019s the problem?<\/h4>\n<p>Between 1961 and 2016, red deer numbers in Scotland have increased by 60%. Without natural predation, there\u2019s a tendency for numbers to keep rising until the limit to habitat or food is reached. The science seems to show we\u2019ve reached peak red deer, but the jury is still out on lowland species like Roe, Sitka and Fallow. New numbers are currently being worked on, but the rough estimate at the moment is somewhere in excess of 700,000. This causes more damage to woodlands and agriculture, and increases traffic accidents and Lyme\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15821\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15821\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/2-bare-hills-and-a-watchful-eye..._.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15821\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bare hills and a watchful eye on a stalker\u2019s path in the Mamores<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>Wood for the Trees<\/h4>\n<p>The UK has some of the lowest native tree cover in Europe. Historical climate warming is no excuse \u2013 in Norway, at similar latitude and climatic conditions, trees still cover the hillsides. So why do we have so few trees? <\/p>\n<p>According to the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland (NWSS), about 33% of all native woodlands that do hang on are subject to \u2018high\u2019 or \u2018very high\u2019 levels of overgrazing. Even our more common trees, like birch and scots pine, can\u2019t survive into maturity. Deer are the chief culprits. Perhaps a third doesn\u2019t sound too much\u2026 until you consider that our native woodland is already an incredibly rare resource, covering only 6% of its original area in Scotland. Furthermore, woodland ecologists Holl and Armstrong point out that if one includes \u2018medium\u2019 levels of woodland damage, which reduces diversity by killing off the more vulnerable species like rowan, elm, ash, willow and the like, then the amount of native woodland being eaten to the ground jumps to an alarming 87%.<\/p>\n<p>Stripping bark on mature trees is one factor, but grazing saplings and new shoots means no new trees can mature to replace the old. Overgrazing destroys the understorey and leads directly to \u2018geriatric\u2019 woodlands &#8211; and correspondingly, in a loss of other woodland flora and fauna, particularly birds and insects. In short, without new trees, our woodlands are on borrowed time.<\/p>\n<p>As a response to all those hungry mouths, many landowners resort to fencing, often funded by the public purse through grant schemes, locking out deer from their native habitat and starving them of food and shelter. As a result Scottish deer are smaller than their European counterparts, and suffer from higher levels of starvation and exposure. Just take a long walk in the spring to see this in the flesh. <\/p>\n<p>Replacing the fencing currently nearing the end of its life is estimated at \u00a3100m. But this cost doesn\u2019t include a growing need to mitigate the effects of climate change: encouraging natural flood prevention by regenerating and planting along rivers and burns (an estimated 25-50% of all waterways in Scotland!). I was shocked to learn that the Scottish government spends at least \u00a34.8m a year on fencing alone, just at present levels. <\/p>\n<p>Can we afford yet more fences, or should we think about addressing the issue at source? For woodland regeneration to occur, a density of less than 5 deer per km2 is needed. Less than 1 per km2 and you really start to see major improvements \u2013 those waterways could heal themselves in a generation. By contrast, sporting estates tend to operate around 15+ per km2. In Caenlochan, near where Brian\u2019s video was filmed, it\u2019s more like 40. <\/p>\n<p>What about Europe? Average densities are around 0.1-0.4 per km2, and no need for deer fences.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15822\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15822\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3.-spring-casualty.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15822\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spring casualty<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>How are deer managed?<\/h4>\n<p>There\u2019s no legal obligation for deer to be managed in a way that benefits them, other wildlife, habitat or even the economy. They are managed on a voluntary basis by the landowners, who have the right to shoot or fence them\u2026 or not, as they see fit. As we might expect, there\u2019s a huge range of interests at play: Private estates &#8211; some operating for sport and some not, with varying degrees of efficiency \u2013 charities, crofters, agriculture and forestry businesses. Some sport shooting landowners maintain artificially high numbers on the hill by winter-feeding. Others manage for woodland, or grouse shooting, in which case they might exclude through fencing or keep numbers artificially low so as not to interfere with ground nesting birds.<\/p>\n<p>There are 44 upland Deer management groups (DMG\u2019s) and 11 lowland groups in place, but they still cover less than 40% of the country as a whole. The remaining 61% of the country is not subject to any oversight at all, and as a result we know little about numbers and impact. We\u2019re almost unique in Europe in having such a piecemeal approach to deer regulation. <\/p>\n<p>In practice, this leads to uneven management for private interests, rather than the good of the countryside as a whole. Critics describe DMG\u2019s as \u2018stag clubs\u2019; worthwhile arenas for communication between members perhaps, but without the means of enforcing action internally. If SNH are concerned about damage to deer welfare, woodland, agriculture, natural heritage or public safety, they can attempt to invoke voluntary deer control agreements (under \u2018section 7\u2019 of the Deer Act 1996), but these are non-binding. It has never successfully enforced a compulsory control agreement (a \u2018section 8\u2019). <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, the SNH report shows that of all voluntary agreements, less than a quarter have been successful in meeting habitat targets, and only half have reduced deer numbers. Grazing impact is actually on the increase in another quarter of cases. On occasion, agreements have failed entirely because landowners refused to participate in talks at all.<\/p>\n<p>Results are patchy at best, but the SNH report isn\u2019t all bad news. As the chair of the Association of Deer Management Groups, Richard Cooke, is keen to point out, some things have improved over the last 2 years. Following government grant support for Deer Management Plans, there are now more groups participating in planning with SNH, and more of these plans show positive results against public interest criteria like deer counts, habitat monitoring and transparency of information. <\/p>\n<p>But for conservationists there\u2019s still a huge range of performance across the DMG\u2019s: Less than half have identified actions to reduce impact on land at risk, and less than a quarter identify a sustainable level of grazing. So while engagement in the process has improved, but there\u2019s still a lack of real action being taken. <\/p>\n<p>The war of words takes mysterious turns, too. Early in 2017, several news outlets ran a story claiming that deer weren\u2019t the problem, but invasive species were. To those with a journalistic eye, it plainly had its origins in a press release rather than a researched piece\u2026 but at any rate, I wasn\u2019t the only one to call foul on this red herring. The SNH report already acknowledges that invasives are the largest single threat to native woodland \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t make deer overpopulation any less of a problem than it is. This was clearly meant to distract from the issue currently under discussion at Hollyrood. <\/p>\n<p>The SNH report is unequivocal about its conclusion: Deer Management Groups aren\u2019t enacting (or even able to enact) changes in management that would reduce overgrazing. Something else is needed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15823\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15823\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4.-Hinds-in-the-fisherfield-wilderness.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hinds in the Fisherfield<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>Are Deer dear?<\/h4>\n<p>What are deer worth in purely economic terms, aside from their value in social, cultural and habitat terms? Costs and benefits aren\u2019t easily reduced in this way, of course, but a few numbers do stand out from the SNH report. <\/p>\n<p>Benefits: 722 jobs, a total worth of \u00a315.8m per year to the private sector, and \u00a31.8m to the public sector. <\/p>\n<p>Costs: privately \u00a336.8m, publicly \u00a312.9m. An additional \u00a313.8m costs due to vehicle collision, on the increase yearly, and most of the \u00a30.5m it takes to treat Lyme\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, Mull\u2019s reintroduction of white tailed eagles is reckoned to bring in \u00a35million each year and generate 100 FTE jobs \u2013 just for that one species, and place alone.<\/p>\n<p>What about other research? An older study (Edwards and Kenyon 2013) quotes research done in 2006, which found a larger benefit of \u00a3105m income and 2520 FTE jobs. However, it\u2019s worth noting that this included all associated tourism business, not just management related income\u2026 most of which would remain regardless of a higher cull rate.<\/p>\n<p>So, if we look purely at management, both public and private sectors make a net loss. Even the Scottish Gamekeepers Association admits that estates subsidise the deer business! The status quo is costing nature, and costing us. It needs to change.<\/p>\n<h4>Making a case for change<\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s a sad but unavoidable truth that the question of land use, and for whose benefit, is bound up with a historical sense of injustice, and a growing call for land reform. There have been waves of clearances; people, trees and wildlife. And because deer have no natural predators in the UK, it\u2019s also understandable that the conservation-minded should call for the return of apex predators like lynx and wolves. <\/p>\n<p>But politics is the art of the possible, and we\u2019ll need carrots as well as sticks to make this work. Alongside better information and regulation, there should also be support for estates, crofters and the general public, as well as for the animals themselves \u2013 financial incentives, grants and subsidies, education and re-training \u2013 for progress to be made. In the coming years, alongside building a passionate but scientific case for big predators, I think we\u2019ll need to help estate managers square the circle to meet both their commercial stalking and public interest duties. <\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15824\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15824\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/5.-Stag-at-Guirdil-bothy-Rum.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15824\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stag at Guirdil bothy, Rum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Scotland\u2019s Red Deer research project, based on Rum, has demonstrated clear advantages for estates in reducing deer numbers. In the north of the island, a lack of culling led directly to significantly more hinds and less stags\u2026 by a factor of 3. It\u2019s worth watching the video above again with this gender imbalance in mind. Moreover, the stags that did make it to adulthood were more likely to \u2018emigrate\u2019 to another area and be in poorer condition, with smaller antlers. Reducing deer density by the amount suggested on Rum (already deforested) still isn\u2019t low enough to help native woodlands in most cases, but it would help in some, say experts with the Native Woodland Survey.<\/p>\n<p>Sport estates are valued by the number of stags shot &#8211; not their condition &#8211; but the Rum research shows that the financial performance of many sport estates can be improved. With the support of forward thinking trade and tourist organisations, there\u2019s no reason why some shouldn\u2019t market \u2018ethical\u2019 stalking on rewilded ground, with a genuine sense of quarry\u2026 for a more \u2018discerning\u2019 and wealthy client who wants to hunt big game in the UK. It\u2019s not to everyone\u2019s taste &#8211; and no, it\u2019s not my cup of tea either &#8211; but with a little imagination at the premium end of the market, less really could be more.<\/p>\n<p>And at the other end of the spectrum, culling more deer could open up stalking (both professional and for sport) and venison production to the wider population, reconnecting more of us with this iconic animal as livelihood, game and food for the table. A higher cull rate could both increase profits and democratise those benefits at a local level, where it counts \u2013 more employment, and more visitors.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, there would be new wildlife tourism opportunities &#8211; like on Mull with it\u2019s White Tailed Eagles &#8211; and new woodlands to plant and care for. This too could bring life back to the glens, for people and nature. But none of this is possible without government support.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15825\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15825\" src=\"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-large wp-image-15825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/6.-near-Glenshee-image-courtesty-of-Brain-Shackleton.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15825\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Near Glenshee &#8211; image courtesy of Brain Shackleton<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>Now What?<\/h4>\n<p>The RSPB, Ramblers Scotland, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Trees for Life, The Woodland Trust and the John Muir Trust are all firmly of the belief that change is needed, but are conciliatory about next steps. They have requested that sustainable management of deer should be a legal requirement for landowners. They\u2019d like to see planned cull figures checked with SNH on a yearly basis to meet the environmental, social and economic objectives not of private interests but of the country at large, and they want SNH to be able to step if needed to see these cull rates are achieved. Lastly, they want to see more data collected on the non-red species, and that other 60% of the country currently without any oversight at all, so we can better track habitat and biodiversity loss and act to repair it in time. These measures aim \u201cto encourage the voluntary approach to work more effectively and enable adequate culls to be carried out when it does not\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>Existing methods of managing deer are not working \u2013 the data (as well as that shocking video) proves it &#8211; but without statutory powers, SNH can\u2019t act to improve matters for wildlife, nature and the people of Scotland. It\u2019s our natural heritage, after all. <\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to let the minister know (politely!) what you think on the subject, tweet her at: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/strathearnrose\">@strathearnrose<\/a> or email: <a href=\"mailto:roseanna.cunningham.msp@parliament.scot\">roseanna.cunningham.msp@parliament.scot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are deer eating us out of house and home? David Lintern weighs the evidence in the latest battle for the heart of the beast. Red Deer may be Scottish icons, but they represent much more than a shortbread tin version of our beautiful country. They are at the heart of an ongoing struggle over land use and ownership, symbolic of our nature both wild and tamed, and are emblematic of the often-ambiguous relationship with the ground under our feet. And lest we forget in a sea of tourist (card)board cutouts and political metaphors, they are also real, physical animals\u2026 over<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/bare-hill-of-the-hind\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more &#8250;<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-magazine","category-conservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15819"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15833,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819\/revisions\/15833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}