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Authorisations

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) issues authorisations under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. Authorisations allow individuals to cull deer in circumstances when they would not normally have the legal right to shoot them, for example to prevent deer damaging the natural heritage (natural habitats).

When Are Authorisations Required?

Authorisations are required when shooting deer in the following circumstances:

  • during the Closed Season - see below for more details 
  • at night - the shooting of deer is not permitted between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise
  • driving deer with vehicles- in order to take or kill for the purposes of deer management.

New! General Authorisation

The Wildlife & Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 (WANE Act) has made a number of changes to the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. These changes, which cover the close seasons and owner and occupier rights, means that any deer shot in the close season will require authorisation from Scottish Natural Heritage.

A new general authorisation, referred to below, comes into force on 1st April 2012. This will allow occupiers suffering damage to improved agricultural land or enclosed woodland to control deer in the close season. You can request a copy by contacting us on 01463 725362 or by downloading it from the link below.

General authorisation for 2012/13.  PDF document

More detail on the changes to the Close season and owner occupier rights

Changes to Section 5 and 26 of the Deer Act, which cover the close seasons and owner occupier rights, mean that from the 1st April 2012 any deer culled out of season must be culled under authorisation from SNH.

The exemption for the rights of owners and occupiers to cull deer out of season to prevent damage on improved agricultural ground and in enclosed woodland has been removed.

The right for the occupier to cull deer to prevent damage in season in enclosed woodland and on improved agricultural land remains.

SNH can now issue authorisations which can be general or specific in their nature. A general authorisation is in place for owners and occupiers suffering damage to improved agricultural land or enclosed woodland to cull deer for the purpose of preventing damage. This general authorisation covers the period from 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013. The general authorisation does not allow the culling of female deer, over 1 year old, of any species between the period of the 1st April to the 31st August.

The owner, owner's employees, the occupier's employees or any other person normally resident on the land can carry out control under any general authorisation or specific authorisation on enclosed woodland and improved agricultural land without the need to be on the SNH fit and competent register.

Those operating under a general authorisation, must have read and understood the general authorisation and carry out any control in accordance with the conditions listed on the authorisation.

Returns, Night Shooting and Occupiers

Returns of deer culled under the general authorisation will be sought from annual cull returns and it is a condition of the authorisation that individuals share cull information with the owner of the land or SNH when requested.

The general authorisation provisions will be subject to regular review and it is likely SNH will review the conditions and information required to operate under the licence on an annual basis.

Night shooting for public safety may now be authorised by SNH. This relates to the culling of deer to reduce or prevent impacts by deer on public safety. This is not a measure to allow shooting of deer at night where it is deemed unsafe to do so during daylight hours. Any application for such an authorisation must detail why daylight/in season/out of season control have not been sufficient to address the problem.

Occupiers are defined in the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 as any tenant or sub-tenant, whether in actual occupation of the land or not. In order to operate under the general authorisation, occupiers would need to be able to satisfy a Court that they were preventing damage to their legitimate objectives and this should be reflected in any lease and/or agreement that occupiers are operating under. 

Woodland

Owners and Managers of Woodland need to be particularly aware of how these changes may affect their operations. In any woodland, female deer cannot be culled from 1st April to 31st August without a specific authorisation.

The definition of enclosed land is also of central importance. It is defined by the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 as meaning enclosed by a stock-proof fence or other barrier and unenclosed shall be construed accordingly. It is for those operating under the general authorisation to satisfy themselves that the land is enclosed. 

Collaboration

Collaboration and consultation between the various interests on any given piece of land is highly desirable and all possible steps should be taken to ensure that there is an effective dialogue between as many as applicable of the owner, the occupier(s), sporting tenants, controllers, neighbours and the deer management group. It remains the case that anyone operating under an authorisation, general or specific, should be able to demonstrate that no other reasonable means of control would be adequate. Longer term problems may be more effectively addressed through dialogue with other deer managers in the area, including through local Deer Management Groups than by recourse to authorisations.

Application forms:

Completed forms

Please send completed forms to wildlifeops@snh.gov.uk or by Fax to 01463 725048

Postal Address: Wildlife Operations Unit, Scottish Natural Heritage, Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness, IV3 8NW

Guidance

Night shooting code of practice. external site  

Further advice and guidance is available from James Scott on 01463 725363. If your enquiry is particularly urgent and James is not available, please contact Donald Fraser on 07990 561963.