Details of assessment carried out: Project Report

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Hunting a species which has "artificially high numbers" in the area. Their numbers are having a negative impact on the natural regeneration of the Caledonian pine forest and restoration of high-altitude peat bogs. "In this restoration landscape, deer populations need to be carefully managed to enable recovery of damaged habitats and allow the expansion of native woodland." "In the absence of natural predators, professional deer stalkers are employed by Cairngorms Connect to cull the deer and keep their density to below 5/km2, which is the level needed to promote broadleaf regeneration."

Details of assessment carried out: Project Report

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: "To avoid waste, venison from the deer is sold both locally and nationally. Around 85-90% of the meat goes directly to game dealers7 who manage the onward sale. Venison from the restoration site is currently only a small proportion of the meat the two game dealers receive, so does not have a significant impact on their overall profit but does support this rural economy to some extent. The remaining 10-15% is sold through other channels. This includes sale of the venison at a farm shop, an RSPB nature reserve, at a local pub and via a local delivery service, for those who want to cook it themselves." "Male deer can be harvested all year around, but females only outside of their breeding season. Around 2,000 deer a year are culled across the whole restoration landscape. The value of the venison depends on quality, and the extent to which stalkers process the venison presale but can amount to around GBP90,000 a year (e.g., an average of GBP45/ a deer when sold to game dealers). Cairngorms Connect uses proceeds from the sale to invest in the employment of professional deer stalkers, contributing back toward the ecological management of the site. Local butchers profit from the sale of the venison harvested from the restoration site, but venison purchased from the game dealers is mostly not identifiable as being from the restoration site, as the game dealers purchase venison from various sources which become mixed in supply chains. Profits can be higher if the butchers sell venison with the brand of the restoration site and a ‘story’ behind the meat. The sale of branded venison is currently being done only on a small scale, but the project hopes to expand on this."

Details of assessment carried out: Project Report

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The project leaders provide traineeships to support individuals to to develop the skills needed carry out culling of deer. The venison produced contributes to local trade. 85-90% of the meat goes to game dealers for onward sale, which supports this rural economy, even as a small proportion of their profits. The remaining 10-15% is sold through other local channels including an RSPB shop, a local pub, a farm shop and a via local delivery.