GovWire

We are consulting on proposals to help control and manage the UKs increasing deer population to better protect the natural environment and woodlands whilst improving animal welfare standards.

Populations of wild deer, in part due to a rapid increase in non-native deer species, may now be higher than at any time in the last 1,000 years. Excessive deer grazing affects the sustainability of existing woodlands and new tree planting, harms our native biodiversity, and damages agricultural crops and trees managed for timber. An unsustainable deer population can also impact the health and welfare of the deer themselves.

The actions set out within the consultation will help us make further progress to meet our biodiversity and tree planting targets. The Government is committed to trebling tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament as part of our plans to meet net zero by 2050.