Community survey results evidence the strength of community feeling on the issue of deer

Bornish Community Council (BCC) has published the results of a deer impacts survey of all households between Drimsdale and Frobost carried out in October and November last year.

The Community Council said it was prompted to undertake the research by the large number of complaints it had received from community members.

The survey was delivered to 155 households in the BCC area, representing 92% of the local population. 115 surveys were returned, representing a response rate of 81%.

A spokesperson for BCC said that the high response rate indicated the community’s willingness to participate in and influence local issues.

The results showed that 55% of respondents believe that deer management has become worse or much worse in the past 10 years, with 74% of respondents saying they had experienced negative issues with deer in the past five years.

The majority of deer incidents related to damage to gardens, crops and crofts, with eight people reporting vehicle damage.

Fifty-nine of the 115 respondents had formally reported a deer incident, and of those, only 37 were satisfied with the way their issue was handled.

Asked whether they had noted any changes in the number of tick bites over the past ten years, 65% said the incidence had increased. Half of those responding said they had noticed a change in where tick bites occurred, citing ‘vegetable patch, garden, washing line, machair, hayfield and children’s play area’ as new hotspots.

Asked what action Stòras Uibhist and the Deer Management Group should undertake to improve deer management, 59 respondents said ‘reduce the herd’, 37 said ‘remove all deer’ and 23 said to ‘confine’ them. Forty-nine people asked for better management of deer complaints, with 46 respondents asking for wider community consultation on the issue.

The question ‘on balance, do you feel that deer are an asset or are detrimental to our community’ received 95 responses, with only 7% believing them to be an asset, 35% thinking they were both an asset and a detriment, and 47% clear that they were a detriment.

The survey report included a range of comments received from respondents, the vast majority of which were negative, citing the damage deer do to gardens – ‘many people have stopped growing plants and vegetables and reluctance and inability to grow crops or trees and have a garden’ and the cost of deer protection – ‘hundreds of ££s of plants and lawn ruined over the years and have now had to spend ££ on electric fence’.

Comments also highlighted community concerns regarding road safety – ‘constant fear when driving particularly at night and early morning = waiting for accident or fatality’.

The relationship deer have to ticks and Lyme disease was also raised – ‘Stòras should come to terms with the fact that Uist has by far the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the whole of Scotland and that it is spread by deer and can be serious to people’s health, that all deer should be culled. What is more important than people’s health?’.

A small number of positive comments were returned, referencing venison as a local, sustainable food source – ‘deer are very good on a plate’, highlighting that they were not the only problem beast – ‘rabbits and sheep cause more damage’ and recognising that they ‘look lovely’.

Stòras Uibhist cull update

Stòras Uibhist has published an update of herd numbers following the conclusion of its annual deer cull.
The Estate now reports that 163 hinds, 95 stags and 49 calves have been killed, a total of 307 beasts in all, saying that the figure is well ahead of cull targets set out at the last AGM.

Stòras Uibhist had previously set out an optimum herd number of 450, but amended this figure to 600 at its November AGM, saying: “We would like to see the positive impact of our new zero tolerance policy of shooting all beasts to the west of the main road and within village boundaries on the east side of the estate. It may well be that if the deer are staying out of the way and not causing any damage that we can maintain a herd of around 600 without negative impacts.”

An independent helicopter count carried out on the Estate in September last year confirmed that here were 1198 deer on the Estate. This year’s cull still leaves a herd of 891 beasts, almost double the previously agreed commitment to maintain herd numbers at around 450, and almost 300 more than its new target.

The Estate says its cull programme should bring the total deer herd down to just over 600 by 2028.
Stòras Uibhist said: “The estate’s keepers will continue to address problems of stags causing damage west of the main road and sightings/ complaints should continue to be addressed to the estate office on 01878 700101. When calling please have as much information to hand as possible including date and time of the complaint, the exact location and details of the damage caused.”

Community petition sparks Stòras Uibhist EGM

On Monday 13th February a petition signed by more than 200 Stòras Uibhist members was handed in to the Estate’s Daliburgh offices requesting in clear and bold terms that all deer be removed from the South Uist estate.

Stòras Uibhist member Ronald Mackenzie has been instrumental in setting up the petition, and told Am Pàipear what had driven him to action:

“For years, the community has tried and failed to make the Estate understand the strength of negative feeling there is about the deer. We felt that an EGM was the only route left open to us.

“The facts on deer are clear – the links with our outrageously high incidence of Lyme disease, the damage they wreak on crops and gardens – these are the issues our community lives with – this is the reality we face.

“It is heartbreaking to think that after 17 years of community ownership, we are no further on than we were a century ago; a landlord forcing its will on its own people.”

Stòras Uibhist’s Articles of Association state that a general meeting must be called within 28 days should it be requested by at least 10% of the membership, which currently equates to 86 members.
The Articles also state that a ‘quorum for a general meeting shall be the lesser of 40 Ordinary Members or 10% of the Ordinary Members present in person. No business shall be dealt with at any general meeting unless a quorum is present.’

Stòras Uibhist CEO Darren Taylor has confirmed that an Extraordinary General Meeting has been convened for Monday, 20th March with the single issue of focus being the removal of all deer from the South Uist Estate.

Mr Taylor told Am Pàipear: “It is important to be clear that there is only one issue on the agenda for the forthcoming EGM; whether or not to remove all deer form the Estate.

“Storas Uibhist will set out a robust defence of our position and make clear that we believe we can manage our deer herd in a way that adds value for the community and reduces the potential for negative impacts.

“Everyone will be given the opportunity to state their views, but to be clear, the focus will be tightly maintained on that single question.

“The opportunity to vote will be afforded to all members ahead of the EGM; these votes will be added to votes counted at the EGM and a simple majority will decide the way forward.”

Those who facilitated the petition have told Am Pàipear that they do not feel the EGM vote is being handled fairly or legally, as it does not follow the guidelines set out in Stòras Uibhist’s Articles of Association.

Ronnie MacKenzie summed up concerns by saying: “We feel that allowing voting to take place before the EGM is held leaves the process open to the risk of manipulation and directly undermines the rights of each person to vote according to their own inclination or conscience.”

“The Articles of Association clearly set out the rules for how a vote must be carried out. There is no provision in the Articles for voting in advance, only for proxy voting at the EGM itself; moreover, the Articles stipulate that a secret ballot must be held if requested at the meeting by two ordinary members. The voting forms sent out by Stòras include members’ names, rendering a secret ballot impossible to deliver.  Named ballot papers leave it open for Stòras to exert influence on members and staff to vote in a particular way; people have told me that they do not feel able to vote with their conscience because they are afraid of reprisals.”

Information was issued to Stòras Uibhist members by post, setting out the motion and the defence and including details of proxy voting arrangements.