Decisive vote against full herd eradication

The case for and against the total eradication of deer from South Uist Estate was discussed at length at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Stòras Uibhist on Monday, 20th March.

The debate around deer has simmered on for many years, heating up in recent months and weeks as the meeting approached, so that by the time the community gathered in Southend Hall, feelings were already running high.

The community vote had attracted national media coverage and caught the attention of deer lobby groups, who campaigned to have the motion rejected.

Arrangements for the meeting had been agreed in advance by both parties, and MSP Alasdair Allan took the role of neutral arbiter to facilitate the single motion debate brought forward by the petitioners:

“We propose that SnBM removes all deer from the estate area and concentrates on finding other viable alternatives and employment opportunities for land presently occupied by deer.”

The petitioners were led by Ronnie MacKenzie and Thomas Fisher, with additional contributions from other members.

The case for the motion focused on the role deer play in Uist’s alarmingly high rate of Lyme disease, one of the highest across the UK by quite some margin.

The petitioners reminded members of the recently published results from Glasgow and Liverpool University studies, which made clear that while the deer don’t cause the disease, they do play a crucial role in the life cycle of the tick and the Borrellia infection that causes Lyme.

Mr MacKenzie and Mr Fisher spoke of the devastating impact that ticks and Lyme disease had brought to their communities and of the heartbreak and costs associated with the damage the deer and the disease cause.

The impacts on stock were also set out, detailing the considerable health and financial burden of other tick-borne diseases such as Louping Ill and Strawberry Foot Rot.

The recurring threat of road traffic collisions involving deer, the damage that deer cause to gardens and crofts and the high cost of deer and tick mitigation measures was also raised.

The view from those who brought forward the motion was that these health and financial impacts did not justify maintaining what they detailed as a loss-making part of the Stòras business.

The petitioners made an emotional plea to the meeting to put the health and wellbeing of the community ahead of the requirements of the sporting estate.

The case against the petition was led by Stòras CEO, Darren Taylor.

Mr Taylor said Stòras Uibhist accepted that deer numbers had become too high and that a continued and significant cull was required, but made clear that the Board did not believe eradication of the herd was the right way forward.

He said that Stòras Uibhist recognised the role that deer play in the spread of Lyme disease but said the Board did not believe that the science was definitive in suggesting that removing the deer would eradicate the disease.

He cited the substantial numbers of deer culled since the helicopter count last year and said the figures evidenced how seriously the organisation took the requirement to reduce the herd size.

Mr Taylor said the continued commitment to culling 225 beasts each year would see the total herd reduced to about 400 by 2027/28, preserving four game keeping posts dependent on the deer.

He accepted that parts of the business returned a loss but said he believed that the gamekeeping business could grow to profitability if given a chance.

The arguments were passionately and politely set out by both sides and all who wanted to speak were given the opportunity to do so.

When everyone had finally had their say, Alasdair Allan drew the debate to an end and those members who had not already done so were invited to cast their vote.

All votes were counted on the night by members of the Comhairle’s official vote teller team, and once the final count had been accepted by both parties, all voting papers were shredded to ensure anonymity.

Cllr Uisdean Robertson, who had led the tellers, presented the result: 140 members had voted for the petition, 379 had voted against, with three spoiled ballots.

Well over 100 voting slips were sent to Stòras Uibhist in the days running up to the meeting, with others submitted as members arrived at the hall; in all, 456 of the 522 total votes (87.5%) were cast before the debate took place, making clear that for most members, the decision had already been made.

Sixty percent of Stòras Uibhist’s 870 members cast their vote.

With feelings still running high, what next for the community and its estate? As one member of the audience summed up: “This battleground has been set because of a lack of trust; in the aftermath of this meeting, how can that trust be rebuilt?”

Following the meeting, the petitioners submitted a formal request asking Stòras Uibhist to follow up on their commitments by: “Fully acknowledging the high incidence of Lyme Disease in Uist and the link between deer and Lyme and other tick-borne diseases; actively engaging to develop and deliver strategies to reduce ticks and tick-borne diseases appropriate to the conditions in Uist, with support from the Lyme Disease subgroup; implementing their commitments to cull and to keep deer out of townships…by establishing an independent mechanism within the community to track progress in reducing deer numbers.”