Rural Affairs and Islands Committee 10 December 2025 [Draft]
Good morning. I want to start by thanking the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Parliament’s legislation team for their support in drafting these amendments.
I have 17 amendments in this group, covering three areas: deer overgrazing, urban afforestation and sustainable forestry. All have been inspired by the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report “Inquiry into public financial support for tree planting and forestry”, which concluded that
“subsidising commercial conifer planting is not justified and the potential for the forestry sector to deliver multiple benefits has not been fully realised.”
With that in mind, I have lodged these amendments to probe areas that the RSE report found would benefit from Scottish Government intervention.
First, on the issue of deer grazing, amendment 11, in my name, seeks to address the environmental damage caused by the overgrazing of deer while protecting other wildlife habitats. The RSE report identified a concern about
“expensive fencing around planted areas resulting in red deer being displaced to adjoining areas where browsing and grazing pressures then increase, together with capercaillie and black grouse mortality caused by collisions with fences”.
Put simply, deer fencing is expensive and, although those who can afford it are able to erect it, it simply moves the problem of deer overgrazing to areas without fencing, without addressing the problem of unsustainable deer numbers. At the same time, it poses a risk to wildlife, which might become trapped or injured in the fencing.
If the cabinet secretary believes that there are unintended consequences with amendment 11, I am sure that she will explain them. However, I ask that she outline how the Scottish Government will address the heart of the issue—that is, how it will support those without deer fencing whose plots adjoin areas with fencing to control deer numbers on their land. As, I am sure, she will agree, deer overgrazing is a national concern that no landowner or tenant should be left to shoulder alone.