Overabundant deer populations within urban areas are causing increasing problems. The research evaluated the levels of acceptance for lethal (e.g. hunting) and non-lethal (e.g. birth control) deer management strategies in the township of Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Bow hunting was the preferred management strategy with the establishment of a special crossbow season. Exposure to deer and deer management, tolerance and willingness to pay for wild deer management can vary between rural to more urban areas.

Strategies in place need to be accepted by both hunters and the local communities. Strategies targeted at a landscape level may be more easily accepted than at a broader town level. Education about wild deer management strategies is also beneficial for wider community acceptance. Utilising local newspapers to help disseminate information about deer management can also be a method to reach more homeowners in an area.

The findings of the research identify a gap between the theory and practice of collaboration in natural resource management. Using examples of collaborative deer management in England, Scotland and the USA the research cross analysed these with the aim to understand the challenges and process of collaboration. In particular, the challenge around the role of power within the collaborative process was highlighted. For example, the capacity and ability to share power across different stakeholders can be limited if power has already been substantially wielded and boundaries already created.

Conveners and facilitators of collaborative processes need to be aware and reflexive of power relations and structures already in place that may hinder collaboration between different stakeholders. In creating the opportunity for collaboration to occur, this provides the potential for different cultural perspectives to be expressed and challenges/issue redefined as well as allowing all stakeholder voices to be heard.

Collaboration can be difficult with pressures on already limited time and resources.

The research explored the effectiveness of 'urban deer zones' in Indiana, USA. These were created by the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife in 1996 and liberalised the opportunity and bag limits for hunters in areas that were experiencing increasing conflict between people and deer. Surveys were distributed to randomly selected residents and resident hunters in three areas. The survey highlighted that the deer population was perceived to have stayed the same or had grown since the establishment of the urban deer zone. Hunting is the most 'acceptable' form of management, however, the majority of respondents did not allow hunting on their property.

Perceptions of the deer population and management approaches varied between respondents of different backgrounds, e.g hunters, former hunters, pro-hunters, anti-hunters and animal rights activists. Non-traditional techniques (e.g. sharpshooting, trap-and-kill) were not supported by respondents, however, additional opportunities (e.g. increased crossbow use, increased muzzleloader seasons) were supported.

Access to land and property to licensed hunters will restrict opportunities for the management of urban deer populations, even using traditional techniques and during hunting seasons. Non-traditional techniques may need to be implemented in the future to manage deer, however, there will need to be further work to understand the negativity towards these approaches and to help increase public support for these approaches.

Rising red deer population constitute an environmental problem related both to damages to the ecological value of moorland and to costs imposed on other land users, typically forest owners and farmers. Yet management actions to curtail the red deer population are largely in the hands of private estates, who may have little incentive to reduce deer numbers because of the influence of deer numbers on capital values. This paper describes the red deer problem, then characterizes it as an externality over which possible bargains could be struck. The reasons for the lack of such bargains in practice are linked to availability of government intervention and the possible large transaction costs of bargaining; whilst co-operative, multi-party management seems also to have become established.

Although the management actions of the Red Deer Management Groups do not necessarily address the public good externalities involved in excessive deer numbers, the inclusion of nature conservation organisations within Deer Management Groups is a step in the right direction.

Old paper so the structures of deer management may have changed since publication.

The report provides an overview of reasons behind ungulate presence in urban areas and the consequences of overabundance in urban areas. Urban areas provide good habitat and protection from hunters and other predators increasing deer populations in these areas. Although they bring significant benefits there are also increasing conflicts between deer and humans. Challenges include, the overlapping political boundaries and responsibilities and wide ranging public opinion on appropriate management methods. A number of management methods are discussed including conflict reduction methods (e.g. fencing, repellents, vehicle collision mitigation), population reduction (e.g. capture and relocate, sharpshooting, predator reintroduction), fertility control and administrative options.

The focus of management strategies should be more on the reduction of conflicts between deer and people and the management of the deer population at 'an acceptable level' rather than the complete elimination of the conflict or deer herd. This may involve short-term and long-term plans alongside the incorporation of multiple stakeholders.

Diversity of opinions can be challenging for deer management when involving collaboration with the wider public. There needs to be appropriate methods used. Legislation, policy and procedures can also be challenging to deer management, in particular when needing to identify who is responsible, accountable and has the appropriate authority to plan, coordinate and implement deer management plans.

The paper draws on research which developed a participatory approach to deer management through the integration of local knowledge from deer managers with scientific and spatial ecological data using a simple Geographic Information System (GIS). Using two Deer Management Group case study areas in upland Scotland this information was used to predict red deer distribution which was found to be improved by the inclusion of local knowledge.

The model developed included combined knowledge from multiple sources and at different spatial scales thus creating a more realistic prediction of deer distribution. The use of this participatory approach has the potential to improve communication across different ownership boundaries.

The research proposes the use of the scientific community to help facilitate the decision making process for land managers by analysing and synthesising information on deer-forest relationships. From this it may be possible to better predict the outcomes of particular management options using models. The research explored a number of approaches that have been used to develop decision support tools (DST) and proposes the criteria for selecting the most appropriate DST.

Models can be used as decision support tools. They would need to incorporate the level of data that is available on the area and resource to be managed and the management objectives. Management objectives may need to change and adapt rapidly, therefore any model would need to be modified easily to identify new management scenarios, e.g. threshold population size for different tree species regeneration. The use of both top down and bottom up approaches are recommended to improve management, with bottom up approaches used to help gain insights about underlying mechanisms.

What is known about the complexity of the system and the availability of data can be limiting factors when designing models for decision support tools.

The paper explores the potential of community-based collaboration and decision-making within wildlife management. It recognises the potential benefits and challenges associated with community-based collaboration, in particular identifying that collaboration between community stakeholders and wildlife managers can result in improved identification of human-wildlife interactions and wildlife-related impacts on communities. The paper draws on research undertaken with 10 veteran white-tailed deer managers from the USA.

To go beyond just having stakeholder input to a more collaborative relationship between organisations and community stakeholders requires the 'appropriate sharing of responsibility' between the two. Increasing local capacity to be involved with wildlife management is recognised as an important role of wildlife management agencies. It is felt that such an opportunity to increase collaboration and the capacity for collaboration can result in a long lasting and positive influence on both the communities involved and wildlife management.

Not all wildlife management issues can addressed at the community level. Therefore, management organisations will be required to prioritise those that can involve other stakeholders effectively and assess the risks that may be associated by not engaging with communities.

The paper examines and evaluates Deer Management Groups (DMGs) and the stakeholders involved. DMGs are intended to help facilitate more collaborative engagements. The paper identifies a tension between different expectations and agendas between stakeholders when establishing shared goals.

Maintenance of DMGs and collaboration is dependent on 'appropriate' role allocation and the adoption of responsibilities; definition of values and goals and establishing communication and trust within the networks.

The potential of collaboration to reduce the costs of sustainable management remains contentious and, in times of increasing resource constraints, the potential mismatch between resource investment and anticipated goals is likely to become a critical issue, which may challenge the goals and capacity of the state and existing managers.

Due to the mobile nature of deer, the management of them can result in conflicts between different stakeholders that have different management goals. This policy and practice note investigates who the stakeholders were for deer management, where collaborative management approaches can be effective for wild deer management and outlines the potential barriers to collaboration.

The paper identifies two specific needs to achieve effective collaboration. Firstly, a strong leader motivated to be able to overcome challenges. Secondly, having the time to allow trust and understanding of the different perspectives to develop between the different stakeholders. The note also highlights the potential of more novel approaches to engage different stakeholders with collaborative processes, e.g. choice experiments to highlight the relative importance of factors influencing management decisions, group interviews, field workshops and GIS programmes.

Conflicting interpretations of scientific evidence can be a limiting factor to collaboration. Geographic Information Systems (computer-based mapping software) could be utilised to generate maps using agreed scientific evidence and integrated with local knowledge. This may help to reduce conflicts through perceived misinterpretations and also improve the accuracy of ecological models through the inclusion of local knowledge.

This is the project website for 'Collaborative Frameworks in Land Management: A Case Study on Integrated Deer Management'. The website includes links to webpages with detailed information about different aspects of the project as well as supporting documents. The overall aim of the research was to produce a framework for the development of effective, informed, inclusive, collaborative and sustainable management of rural resources in Britain. Wild deer were used as a case study.

A follow-on project will be undertaken to examine the potential of increasing the capacity of conservation agencies to incorporate the participatory methods utilised within the research in their own management practices.

The guide brings together insights and experiences of community-based collaborative work carried out by wildlife managers from the northeast region of the USA in relation to deer management. The guide does not aim to be a prescriptive set of guidelines but rather provide broad insights and cases of success that could be adapted by other deer managers wishing to undertake community-based collaboration. The approach to deer management is to see the deer as a resource and not a pest.

The Guide presents five factors that enable community-based practices; adequate knowledge, essential working relationships, effective local leadership, sufficient credibility, and commitment to a common purpose. To achieve these five facilitating factors were also identified; stakeholder involvement, education and learning, informative communication, wildlife agency flexibility and assessment.

Some communities, although wishing to collaborate on decision-making, do not want to take responsibility for the implementation of the management and may resist in this aspect. Land managers may need to be aware of this.

The study is based on community-based collaborative deer management in suburban areas of New York and Massachusetts. The research examined the evolution of deer management issues, the success of collaborative management and what influenced the success of collaborative management. The study identifies that specific factors that can enhance the success of collaborative management may need to be used at different stages as management continues.

The study identifies 7 factors to help designing intervention strategies including, identifying the community environment (past and present), identifying who will be affected, how far the issue has evolved, identify criteria to assess the success of the decision-making process, determine the community social dynamics, identify where capacity needs enhancing and design intervention strategies that target enhancing capacity.

More work could be conducted to verify and expand the number of factors identified that could help to enhance the collaborative decision-making process. Furthermore the potential of facilitation of collaborative engagement in relation to the factors identified is needed to evaluate their effectiveness.

The paper explores the potential of a community-based collaboration project developed between a village in Japan and a local non-governmental organisation. The project was in response to the increasing Sika deer population (which was resulting in human-wildlife conflicts) and a declining hunter population. The aim of the community-based collaboration project was to make economic contributions to the local economy as well as managing the high Sika deer numbers. The means of doing this was to attract visitor hunters and develop a hunter education programme.

The community-based programme did provide wider economic benefits through income generation and employment for some local residents. The educational programmes included also helped to recruit younger hunters. The authors argue that a combination of recreational hunting and hunter education in rural areas can promote more community-based wildlife management in high population density societies where hunting participation is declining.

The deer population levels at the end of the study were at a desirable level. Long-term monitoring of the deer population is needed to assess whether this system has longevity in achieving a balanced target deer population.

Methods for culling wild red deer were compared by observing behaviour and collecting post mortem samples from wild deer shot: (i) by a single stalker during daytime; (ii) by more than one stalker during daytime; (iii) by using a helicopter for the deployment of stalkers and carcase extraction; or (iv) by a single stalker at night, and compared with farmed red deer shot in a field or killed at a slaughterhouse. Culling by a single stalker during the day and shooting in a field were the most accurate in achieving placement of a shot in a target area, but when compared across all methods, there were no significant differences in the percentages of deer that were either wounded or appeared to have died immediately after the first shot. Plasma cortisol concentrations in deer shot using helicopter assistance were similar to those in deer at the slaughterhouse, but higher than deer shot at night or during the day by a single stalker, or in a field. Deer shot using helicopter assistance and also deer culled by a collaborative and single stalking during the day had lower muscle glycogen concentrations than those culled by a single stalker at night. There was no evidence that a particular culling method was associated with an increased risk of accidental or pre-culling injury. If a helicopter is used to assist culling, the deer are more likely to be disturbed before they are shot and therefore, measures should be taken to minimise the disturbance to the deer.

There was no evidence that a particular culling method was associated with an increased risk of accidental or pre-culling injury. If a helicopter is used to assist culling, the deer are more likely to be disturbed before they are shot and therefore, measures should be taken to minimise the disturbance to the deer.

The paper explores the barriers to collaboration in wild deer management in the Scottish Highlands. It highlights, in particular, the potential of recreation hunting to be incorporated within the government's strategy to contain the increasing deer population. Coming from the perspective of landowners, the paper utilises a qualitative and quantitative analysis which highlights the barriers to shooting for conservation. These include, personal preference and the tradition of hunting, antipathy to conservationists and the perception of land stewardship.

The paper calls for greater collaboration between conservationists and landowners to create a 'positive context' to allow more joint initiatives and activities to manage wild deer. The expansion of commercial hunting is the 'best practical approach' to help resolve the current conflict over wild deer.

The report provides information on current deer populations for the different species found in the UK. The benefits and challenges of managing wild deer, the economic costs and potential impacts on human populations (e.g. deer-vehicle collisions, disease) and other habitats are outlined. The main proposals from the report are categorised around 5 broad topic areas, 1) sources of advice on deer (including a national integrated system for providing advice, cooperative management and Deer Management Groups), 2) development of alternative methods for resolving deer problems (including non-lethal measures and design), 3) disease and animal welfare (including TB testing, carcass examination training, discourage supplementary feeding of wild deer to discourage artificially high concentrations), 4) legislation issues (including revising current deer legislation, revising close seasons for individual deer species) and 5) training for stalkers (including encouraging training and consolidate what is already available).

Historically, fencing has been seen as the most effective method of protecting planted and regenerating trees within red deer range. However in recent years foresters have been reconsidering the appropriate balance between fencing and deer control in achieving sustainable forest management as it is now widely accepted that deer, in appropriate numbers are a natural and desirable part of the forest environment.

The strategy sets out the key commitments for managing the National Forest Estate by Forest Enterprise Scotland (agency of Forestry Commission Scotland). The strategy outlines the approaches for the management plan. These approaches aim to align with the WDNA challenges. The National Forest Estate is located in lowland, upland, rural and urban areas of Scotland and the plan will be reflective of these different areas.

The strategy includes the need for working collaboratively with different stakeholders and organisations, e.g. Lowland Deer Network Scotland, Association of Deer Management Groups. Training programmes, public awareness and quality assurance standards are also highlighted as key management approaches.

There has been an increase in the demand for relief from deer/elk problems in suburban environments. In turn the importance for understanding the variance in public acceptability of different management methods is needed. The study compared 10 studies in suburban areas of New York, Missouri and Colorado for the acceptability of deer/elk management methods on 3 variables, gender, deer population preference and personal experience with deer problems.

The study identified different trends based on the 3 variables. Men were more likely to accept lethal management methods to women who preferred non-lethal and no management approaches. Lethal management was also more likely to be accepted by those that wished to see a reduction in the deer population. This was consistent across the 3 areas. In comparison the relative importance of problem experiences by deer/elk varies by location. Contextual information of the area may assist local negotiations about management options.

Management at Creag Meagaidh NNR has been to reduce populations of sheep and native red deer to levels compatible with achieving the active regeneration of native birch woodland. Sheep grazing has been removed from the Reserve area, and deer populations subject to reduction through culling and live sale. Little effect was observed on body weight or fecundity. There is marked (diurnal and) seasonal variation in number of animals recorded on the Reserve and it would appear that current usage is largely by transient individuals or relatively recent immigrants.

Increasing community involvement with deer management has resulted in new challenges and opportunities for wildlife agencies, community leaders, local government and others involved with community-based management. The research was conducted in 8 north-eastern states of the USA and involved in-depth interviews and workshops with long-term deer managers to identify key aspects of a community's capacity to be involved and elements of intervention within deer management.

The researchers recommended the following to improve community capacity within community-based deer management: knowledge, credibility, relationships, common purpose and local leadership. Furthermore the following strategies for interventions to improve community capacity were recommended: assessment of the stakeholders and wildlife agencies involved, stakeholder involvement, educations, informative communication and an understanding of the agency perspective. These all need to be articulated by wildlife agencies for them to be systematically incorporated within intervention design programmes.

The research examined external variables e.g. ecological dynamics, payoff structures, and the influence they had on cooperative behaviour in red deer management. Cooperation at the landscape level is likely to be influenced by the management objectives, e.g. sporting, biodiversity management, and the dynamics of the resource. This results in often complex scenarios that may help to drive cooperative behaviour.

Mechanisms for cooperation and cooperative behaviours are complex and the opportunities (and associated benefits) for cooperation will depend on the management objectives and dynamics of the resource.

Further work could explore the interactions between landowners with different interests and how this may affect the dynamics and potential for cooperation within deer management.

The paper argues for deer to be managed as a common property resource, in particular through more collaborative means such as Deer Management Groups. The habitat of the deer has been degraded over centuries, however, the use of scientific models, though important, only reduce the environmental uncertainty when exploring the relationship between grazing quality and deer population dynamics.

For the full potential of scientific models to be realised and utilised in deer management all landowners need to be involved and actively regarding deer as a common property resource.

Drawing on an example from the Western Highlands of Scotland the authors outline that the barrier to deer being managed as a common property resource are the incentives to behave strategically. Varying cull targets for estates may prove difficult to negotiate between and to find solutions. Likewise, negotiations between different values and interests between different decision makers within the deer management groups is needed.

The amount of wounding during routine culling is an important factor in the welfare of wild deer. Little information exists on factors determining shooting accuracy and wounding rates under field conditions in the UK. In this study, 102 anonymous stalkers collected data on the outcomes and circumstances of 2281 shots. Using hot-deck imputation and generalised linear mixed modelling, we related the probability that a shot hit its target, and the probability that the shot killed the deer if it was hit, to 28 variables describing the circumstances of the shot. Overall, 96% of deer were hit, of which 93% were killed outright. A reduced probability of hitting the target was associated with an uncomfortable firing position, too little time available, shooting off elbows or freehand, taking the head or upper neck as point of aim, a heavily obscured target, a distant target, shooting at females, lack of shooting practice and a basic (or no) stalker qualification. An increase in the likelihood of wounding was associated with an uncomfortable firing position, shooting with insufficient time, a distant target (only when time was not sufficient), a bullet weight below 75 grains, a target concealed in thicket or on the move and an area rarely stalked.

To maximise stalking success and deer welfare, we recommend that stalkers ensure a comfortable firing position, use a gun rest, aim at the chest, use bullets heavier than 75 grains, avoid taking a rushed shot, shoot a distant animal only if there is plenty of time, fire only when the target is stationary, avoid shooting at an obscured animal, take care when the ground is unfamiliar, and do shooting practice at least once a month. The high miss rate of basic-level stalkers suggests that training should include additional firing practice under realistic shooting conditions.

The study area is rapidly developing and there is increasing concern of the potential impact of white-tailed deer populations on agricultural areas, for resource professionals and landowners. Multiple stakeholders were brought together to form a 'taskforce' to evaluate different management options. A report was developed which included 11 management alternatives and 9 final recommendations. A staff member was appointed to develop a management and to implement the task force recommendations and public meetings organised to gain feedback on the plan developed. The implementation of the plan, including direct herd reduction methods, was generally perceived positively with the exception of animal rights activists.

The success of this collaborative process was attributed to; 1) resource and political support from the county government, 2) support from all stakeholders to generate a solution, 3) an effective task force process, 4) education and information programme incorporated into the process, and 5) public meetings included to capture multiple values, opinions and attitudes.

Conducted in Irondequoit, New York, USA, the research examined the role that gender plays in informing responses about suburban deer management. In-depth, semi structured interviews and questionnaires were conducted as part of the research. The results highlighted that women were more likely to consider more criteria than men in relation to managing an overabundant deer herd in the suburban area of Irondequoit. Women were also more concerned about the wider impacts of management techniques on the local community as well as direct deer management issues.

There were four recommendations from the research for deer management agencies; 1) consider gender when bringing stakeholders together to participate in decision making, 2) place emphasis on deliberative approaches to participation; 3) there may be a need to highlight both men's and women's concerns, and 4) more female professionals should be recruited (and/or retained) within deer management agencies.

Habitats within protected areas are monitored to assess and evaluate their condition and detect any trends. This monitoring does not extend beyond the border of the protected area and there is no obligation for landowners to monitor their habitats in the same way. Undertaking semi-structured interviews the research evaluated the uptake of habitat impact assessment methods as an innovative approach to red deer management. The paper also highlights the use of Best Practice Guidance and perceptions of this guidance by deer managers.

Assessing an innovative methodology should be undertaken at the early stages to highlight potential barriers that would prevent the uptake of the method entirely.

Ownership, interpretation and access to data remains an issue and can impede the development of management methods. These factors often underpin perceptions of responsibility and who should provide payment for habitat assessment.

The paper explores the factors that influence heat exchanges of grazing animals in outdoor environments. The need for shelter from trees is also examined in relation to the ecology of grazing animals to tolerate heat losses. Red deer are identified as being more susceptible to colder temperatures during winter due to their 'limited energy reserves'.

An understanding of the varied ways that different animal species utilise shelter trees to modify heat exchanges could help to inform management strategies that incorporate shelter plantings. This could be particularly valuable for foresters and livestock farmers.

The increasing use of stakeholder engagement can highlight a number of different attitudes towards wildlife management. Likewise, a more general attitude towards wildlife could differ from those toward specific management approaches. This could lead to a misinterpretation of stakeholder values and attitudes. Drawing on a quantitative attitude survey of hunters and landowners the paper examines the complexity of attitudes towards red deer management and identifies the factors that influenced these attitudes.

The survey revealed two predominant factors influencing stakeholder attitudes, 1) land use interest and 2) regional affiliation. The researchers argue that grouping stakeholders should be based more on case-specific, contextual information rather than solely on land use interests.

Research on attitudes to wild deer management (and other management) are subject to change over time and so can only represent a 'snapshot' of attitudes. This needs to be factored in if attitudinal research is to be used as background knowledge that will inform management.

Based on research from the UK (6 years) and Nova Scotia, Canada (4 years), the study investigated the methodological refinements and training required to achieve reliable data when using volunteers. For safety reasons volunteers worked in teams of 5-10 (n = 611) under supervision of scientists. The authors conclude that volunteers can monitor deer effectively but that techniques should be modified. The provision of context, training, supervision and verification by a professional are essential. Due to the the drain on scientists' time, cost-effective volunteer deployment is a question of scale.

There are conflicts between private-sector stakeholders responsible for deer management and private landowners who are experiencing the consequences of high deer numbers including economic and conservation damage. Barriers are a consequence and likely to exist when ecological resources such as deer, result in unequal distribution of benefits and costs among the different stakeholders involved.

In order to overcome the barriers to collaboration there is a need to understand the how different collaborative approaches are viewed and promoted. Using a mixed methods approach can help to identify the different preferences and insights into motivations and behaviours underlying these preferences.

Using a mixed-methods approach the paper identifies the preferences for UK Wild Deer managers' preferences for different collaborative mechanisms. It highlights wild deer as an example of management being more effective when undertaken at the landscape scale as opposed to single-site approaches. In order to encourage collaboration the paper argues that there is a need for an understanding of the ecological, geographical, socio-economic and cultural contexts within which the management decisions are being made.

Promotion of collaboration in deer management in the UK is likely to be most effective if incorporated within existing environmental management schemes and flexible to account for specific geographical and cultural contexts.

Wildlife managers commonly attempt to control large herbivores through hunting to meet specific management objectives, considering population density as the key source of information. The problems of censusing populations of large herbivores are reviewed and an alternative approach, employing indicators of ecological change, described, including both population and habitat features. A set of indicators, to be measured over time, are proposed: animal performance, population abundance, habitat quality and/or herbivore habitat impact. This sort of adaptive management is employed widely in France for managing roe deer.

Adaptive management based on a range of ecological indicators is likely to be more effective than using population size alone

Using a mixed-methods approach the paper evaluates the relative importance of different ecological and social drivers for management of deer and their impacts on woodland sites. The paper identifies that ecological factors are more commonly recognised and used to inform management decisions by landowners, however social factors can also provide further insight into deer management decisions. Financial incentives for landowners are an important motivation for the management of deer.

Landscape-scale collaborative management can be important in delivering conservation objectives and ecological benefits. Furthermore, for management strategies to be effective importance should be placed on understanding social and ecological factors.

There are economic motivations for collaborative management that focus on the larger deer species. The authors recognise that smaller species (e.g. Muntjac) still have the potential to impact on conservation interests and should be accounted for if conservation objectives are to be met in areas these species inhabit.

Community involvement with deer management in suburban areas has increased. This has resulted in both challenges and opportunities for collaboration between different stakeholder groups. The paper draws on stakeholder interviews with people involved with collaborative deer management in suburban communities in New York and Massachusetts. The interviews identified the factors that influenced stakeholder capacity and capacity-developing intervention for more effective collaboration.

Recommendations for increasing community capacity for collaborative deer management are: partnerships, credibility, funding, relationships, common purpose, knowledge and leadership. In order to achieve and facilitate capacity development the following 'intervention approaches' are suggested: stakeholder involvement, education, communication, assessment, agency flexibility and planning.

The authors recognise that deer management issues and the responsive collaborative management process can evolve. However, not all issues and collaborative management groups will evolve sequentially. This makes it difficult to define a set of collaborative 'rules' that would work in every context.

The paper questions the legal framework for game management, specifically wild deer, which currently focuses on hunting rights. Highlighting key legislation it identifies the influence of historical laws on contemporary conflicts. The authors argue there is a sense of 'inertia' in relation to sustainable deer management in legal and political terms as a result of current legislation.

The paper argues that there is a need for greater innovation if sustainable deer management is to be achieved including, 'state intervention'; voluntary collaboration; financial incentives and establishing a legal responsibility for management.

In Scotland direct intervention of the public sector has been hampered by a lack of resources and to avoid conflict with private estate owners. In England this is not practical without 'significant legislative change'. Collaboration (namely Deer Management Groups) can be restricted by lack of support or only superficial support by a small minority of land owners. In relation to financial incentives there is a need to understand the context of the different hunting system and culture to examine how effective and accepted the financial incentives would be. Finally there are obstacles to establishing a legal responsibility including the sensitivity of cull data, time and logistics, sensitivities to the dynamic environment of the deer.

Hunters in the Western world today do not need to hunt to obtain food and other animal products. So why do they hunt? This paper examines the motives of hunters, the motives ascribed to hunters by members of the general public, and the role motives play for the moral acceptability of hunting among members of the general public. It draws on a nationally representative survey of the general public (n = 1,001) and hunters (n = 1,130) in Denmark. People with a negative attitude to hunting are more likely to take motives into account when they consider the acceptability of hunting. Three clusters of motives defining distinctive hunting motivational orientations were identified: action/harvest, management/care, and natural and social encounters. The general public ascribed action/harvest motives to hunters more than hunters did.

From a policy perspective, if hunters’ motives are misperceived, improved dialog may be needed to protect the legitimacy of recreational hunting.

This paper considers the results of a study of estates in North West Sutherland which examined land use changes during 1980-1990. Important land use changes are identified which represent a continuation and, in some cases, an acceleration of trends noted from the 1970-1980 period. Trends are, however, variable within and between estate types so that the physical capabilities of the holdings and land use policies generally are inappropriate as full explanations. More relevant is owner motivation. The dominant owner motivation, by typically elderly absentee owners, is private enjoyment. The estate contributes little to the owners’ overall income and wealth and any commercialised activities represent an attempt to minimise losses rather than maximise profits. There was a move to a more commercial orientation among sporting estates, suggesting a lower demand for and return from hind lets. The increased hind cull, therefore, represents increased management of an expanding deer population rather than commercial motives. This is most likely to be a response to the Red Deer Commission’s calls for increased culling rates.

This Practice Note provides information on how to identify deer species, the potential damage caused by deer, potential management approaches to help prevent damage and contact information for advice on deer management. The note is aimed primarily at those who are not familiar with deer management and who may need to consider deer management in the future due to the increasing presence of deer, particularly in lowland areas.

The note provides 3 principles to manage deer impacts, 1) the design and management of the habitat (this is particularly important for woodland habitats), 2) physical protection of vulnerable areas (e.g. fences, plastic netting, deer deterrents) and 3) humane culling of deer to maintain the population at an 'acceptable level'. A co-operative management approach between neighbours is also highlighted as being 'vital' for success in deer management.

The booklet was designed for local residents and communities about the issues related to an over-abundant white tailed deer population, including deer-vehicle collisions, disease transmission and ecological habitat. It also provides potential management options including, non-lethal options (e.g. birth control, trap and relocated, fencing and deer resistant plants) and deer population reductions methods (e.g. sharpshooting, regulated hunting and controlled hunting). It also provides details on current deer reduction programmes in Connecticut as well as facts about deer and recommendations for future deer management.

In developing management programmes it is crucial to build community support and provide residents with facts about all management options. Where land is divided under different ownership it is important to get neighbours to work together. Deer should be targeted for removal but should include stags and does. Management programmes should be undertaken annually and accurate records kept of disease transmission, roadkills and deer-vehicle accidents to evaluate the progress of management. Provide refrigerated storage and a fund to cover the cost of donating venison.

It is important to know the context of the area, who owns the land, what laws or policies may restrict hunting methods as if these are unknown it may reduce the effectiveness of the management programme.

The incorporation of stakeholder knowledge with data from quantitative models can modify the predictions of wildlife distribution and abundance. The use of participatory GIS, allows stakeholders to assist in the refinement of landscape-scale deer management data. The collaboration of stakeholders can thus help contribute to incomplete scientific knowledge.

Stakeholders can have up-to-date knowledge of species which can be particularly helpful when data sources are not as up-to-date for modelling deer abundance and distribution.

There are no practicable techniques available for estimating deer densities at a regional level.

Optimal management prescriptions are developed for a bio-economic system comprising 14 state variables and 6 control variables: red deer management in the Scottish Highlands. Management on estates where deer are husbanded as a sporting resource, and on sites where deer density is reduced to promote the regeneration of native woodland are considered.The particular focus is on the consequences of deer emigration/immigration, between neighbouring sites pursuing conflicting management objectives. Results suggest that a strong stock effect on culling cost and a wide disparity in value between culled males and females underlie the high population densities and female-biased herd structures which prevail across the Highlands. Results also suggest that managing deer density to secure the regeneration of native woodland will incur considerable costs. Emigration/immigration of immature male deer between a neighbouring sporting estate and woodland regeneration site carries adverse cost implications for both parties.

Whilst deer management on sporting estates may respond to financial incentives, the strong inverse relationship between deer density and culling cost will prevent such mechanisms from delivering substantial reductions in deer density under current property rights.

Modelling study comparing various methods of assessing woodland deer population size and change. Compared faecal standing crop, faecal accumulation rate and distance sampling using thermal imaging. Concluded that all the techniques studied are relatively poor at detecting population change, so their use in practical deer management needs to be treated with caution.

Study compared deer-sensitive and deer-tolerant woodland bird populations between 1994 and 2011, across multiple sites. In a period when composite population trends for deer increased by 46%, the community population trend across deer-sensitive birds (those dependent on understory vegetation) declined much more than the community trend for deer-tolerant birds.

The paper identifies the conflicting agendas in relation to deer management for hunting and conservation groups. Wild deer are used as an example of an animal that is regarded as both a pest and valued resource. Conservation groups wish for deer populations to be kept at the lowest level possible whilst hunters desire for deer to be kept at higher rather than lower densities. Although these appear to be in direct opposition and potentially irreconcilable the paper highlights the ways in which these differing interests could be, to an extent, reconciled drawing on work undertaken in New Zealand.

The authors suggest a means to assist the management of deer through the division of the country into management units. These units would then be ranked in relation to their conservation value and the resources required to conserve these values from wild deer. The areas ranked as the highest conservation priority the Government could fund hunters to reduce deer densities. Those deemed of lowest conservation value/priority could be used as training ground for hunters who are less experienced and more experienced hunters used to manage deer in the higher priority areas.

The greatest barrier to the solution suggested is a general lack of awareness of the 'overall picture' of the agendas for conservationists and hunters. Individual cases are often argued over in a reactionary way rather than a more holistic approach.

The management of urban deer populations can prove challenging, in particular when using lethal controls e.g. culling. These can be perceived negatively by urban communities. The research used a questionnaire to assess management preferences of community members in per-urban Scotland. The results were analysed against three social categories, age, gender and familiarity with wildlife. The results for the survey show an overall preference to non-lethal management responses, e.g. fencing, changing human behaviour on roads, across all the social categories. Culling was supported by some respondents as a third preference management response. This paper is part of a wider research project, 'Management of roe deer in peri-urban Scotland'.

Preferred management responses should be utilised first. Culling should only be regarded as a 'subsidiary management response' in peri-urban areas.

The research was conducted using a case study area, Central Scotland Forest. Preferences may vary in different peri-urban and urban areas. A longitudinal study may highlight changes in preferences over time as tolerance levels change and community and wildlife populations change.

The research had two aims; 1) to assess the relationship between preferences for deer population size and management and associated attitudes and 2) how suburban landowner attitudes changed to deer and their management after a communication plan was introduced. Undertaken in the greater Rochester area, New York, questionnaires were sent out to 3 areas of varying deer population density before and after the communication plan was implemented. The responses showed little change in management preference although generally residents opposed lethal management methods to non-lethal methods, e.g. trap and removal, contraception research.

Managers implementing a communication plan should consider the following; 1) the duration and intensity of the debate in relation to deer management within a community, 2) which communication technique would be most effective, 3) consider potential preformed opinions prior to a survey on attitudes being conducted and factor in time for attitudes to potentially change.

The research aimed to identify the most effective research method to examine public perceptions of deer management. It evaluated methods including, focus groups, interviews (face-to-face, in-depth and telephone) and surveys (postal and online, including promoted via social media). Focus groups and postal surveys were identified as as providing the best data quality and for establishing people's perception, awareness and understanding. Email surveys had the poorest quality and lowest response rate. Surveys promoted via social media were not successful. Quantitative and qualitative data needs to be collected to gain a more holistic understanding of the perceptions.

The potential of social media to obtain information and communicate with younger people could be a potential useful approach, however, this requires further examination as an approach. Training in the use of social media may be required. Visitor perceptions should also be included within research on wild deer perceptions as deer can be an important factor in visitor experience to Scotland.

Large declines in the breeding populations and contractions of breeding range have occurred in several woodland birds in Britain in recent decades. Data from the BTO's Common Birds Census indicate that 10 out of 32 woodland species declined by more than 50% between 1966 and 1999, while 5 species increased by more than 50% over the same period. The declining species differ substantially in their ecology and life-history patterns. No single general explanation can be identified for the declines and it is likely that multiple factors have exerted a combined effect on several of the species.

The overall theme of the paper explores issues and narratives in relation to community landownership. A community stalking group in North Harris is identified (p.27) as an example of the changing relationship between the community and natural resources under community landownership tenure.

The stalking group comprises 26 certified trained members who actively manage the hind population. The stalking rights are leased back to private interest. This approach overcame the need to employ a deer manager which led to a change in attitudes by local people of stalking and a decline in poaching.

This review paper outlines the history and population status of red and sika deer in the British Isles. Red deer have been present in Britain since the last glaciation compared to Japanese sika which were introduced in small numbers in different locations in Britain and Ireland since 1860. There has been a recent increase in the population and range of red and sika deer posing diverse management challenges. The paper details the current management of these deer species and factors influencing how they are managed including, for commercial exploitation, forestry management, agricultural impacts and hybridisation between species.

In relation to hybridisation the authors recommend, 1) the avoidance of exotic deer introductions, 2) sika should be specifically managed (such as high rates of culling) as far as possible to try and avoid further habitat damage and kept away from red deer populations, 3) in areas where red and sika populations overlap there should be selective culling, in particular of pioneering sika stags and phenotypically hybrid deer. The latter is particularly difficult due to the subtlety of hybridisation, the authors suggest more information should be provided to improve awareness and effectiveness in identifying hybrid deer.

The multiple aspects related to hybridisation and swarm formation of red and sika hybrids are not yet completely understood. More research in this area is needed in order to help inform future deer management.

Remaining patches of natural woodland in the Cairngorms often fail to regenerate because tree and shrub saplings are browsed by red deer. Liability to browsing is influenced by a sapling's physical and chemical properties, season, availability of alternative foods, soil conditions, surrounding vegetation and local red deer density. Saplings, including pines, can survive in a suppressed state. Rapid growth of these individuals can occur when browsing pressure is relieved. Reducing red deer density to fewer than 5 animals per km2 increases the possibility of woodland regeneration. However, this in itself may be insufficient to produce good seedling establishment in dense vegetation. Ground preparation by fire or mechanical disturbance may be necessary to achieve extensive regeneration.

Deer culling and possibly ground preparation required to achieve successful tree regeneration.

Despite the increasing use of participatory methods within environmental decision-making there are some affected stakeholders that may refuse to take part or potential conflicts may still arise between different stakeholders. The paper examines different reasons behind this and the potential gap between stakeholder expectations and management outcomes using a participatory process in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany.

Stakeholders' decision to get involved with deer management is not necessarily determined solely by their interests but other factors, e.g. communication and relational structures between different social groups. The authors suggest that the use of a 'conflict model' can enable a researcher/manager to evaluate the conflict situation and help to select the most suitable method for resolution.

The model suggested provides an 'overview' of the conflict situation and may not provide the in-depth detail of particular aspects (e.g. social and cultural) that may underlay conflicts.

The study explored the potential of a field-based interactive photo-elicitation method to capture multiple stakeholder perceptions in relation to woodland and forests. The study is part of a wider interest in collaborative planning and management processes. Small groups of research participants were taken to 3 predominantly oak woodlands in the UK that represented different levels of deer browsing. Deer impact on the woodland (and in turn woodland management) can be contentious and a key challenge to collaborative management approaches. Participants were asked to record their experience in the woodlands, taking photographs and making notes. This were used as a focus to group discussion following the field visits. Seven key themes were identified in relation to preferences for woodland landscapes. The study challenges previous studies as there was 'substantial shared appreciation' for woodland landscapes across the different stakeholder groups.

The authors argue that the method 'advances the field of landscape preference assessment'. It can capture stakeholder preferences in an in-depth manner and can also be cost-effective.

The research aimed to improve understanding of sustainable deer management, communicate the interests of all stakeholders, understand the role of deer management groups and land managers in delivering sustainable deer management and to explore the management mechanisms and support tools (e.g. SRDP funding) to underpin sustainable deer management.

The key objective is the promotion of the land managers role as individuals and as members of a deer management group and providing assistance to fulfill their role. The development of a web based tool to provide advice, information and guidance on individual roles and actions that are required and how they can be achieved is provided as an example. The project developed 38 criteria to help evaluate sustainable deer management under the headings of, environmental, economic, social and technical.

One research summary from the 'Collaborative Frameworks in Land Management: a case study on integrated deer management' project. Legal, political and social analysis was undertaken as part of the wider project to evaluate the extent to which formal governance structures can be barriers to collaborative management approaches. Rules and customs associated with deer management have roots as far back as Palaeolithic age, in particular that deer management has been an 'exclusive practice'. Legislation continues to reinforce this exclusivity.

Innovation is required for legislation to encourage collaboration e.g. formalising responsibilities for sustainable deer management. Collaboration opportunities should challenge the perception of exclusivity through 'cultural exchange and partnership working'.

The effect of grazing by red deer was assessed in native pinewoods in the Scottish Highlands by comparing ground vegetation and invertebrate communities in grazed forest with adjacent ungrazed deer exclosures. Grazing was associated with less heather cover and more grass. Bilberry cover remained the same, but grazed bilberry was half the height of ungrazed bilberry and had almost twice as many of its apical tips removed by grazing. Grazing exclosures had more caterpillars, ants, beetles, true flies and stoneflies than grazed forest. There are implications for insectivorous birds in pinewoods.

This study showed that people’s preferences regarding woodland understorey vegetation were generally unstable. Over 50% of participants adjusted preferences upon new information. Extreme preferences following information provision became increasingly rare. People’s preferences became more robust with their age and familiarity with woodlands. There was a widespread desire for a spatially diverse woodland management. Susceptibility of landscape preferences to information provision should be explicitly recognised by landscape planners and researchers, notably where visualisation techniques are being used to inform decision making.

Effective stakeholder collaboration at a community level in wildlife management remains a challenge. This research proposes the use of the ‘Islip Deer Initiative’ (IDI) as one approach to help design a stakeholder involvement strategy. The design of the IDI is based on a four-step procedure. This involved, 1) understanding the local context, 2) defining the objectives for stakeholder involvement, 3) selecting an overarching stakeholder involvement approach, and 4) designing context-specific stakeholder involvement strategies. The context for this research was the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to work as a partnership with three other parties in order to manage white-tailed deer cooperatively.

Residents in the areas of Islip occupied by deer were surveyed to obtain information to help design specific stakeholder involvement strategies. There was a strong interest by many of the residents to input into local deer management decisions. Stakeholder involvement within a deer management decision process should, utilise scientific information, show equality of all stakeholders and views, good communication is key, and be time and cost-effective.

The focus of the research was on the 'management of people-deer interactions' within peri-urban areas of Scotland. This included evaluating the perception of local communities regarding the value and challenges/impacts of deer populations. Anthropogenic causes were associated with deer challenges with preferred management responses being changes in human behaviour, e.g. reduced speed limits before direct management of the deer population such as fencing or 'scarers'. There was, however, a perception that peri-urban communities are not overly impacted by deer. Consequently there was a level of skepticism regarding the need for management of deer populations in these areas.

A Decision Support Framework was developed to assist stakeholders to develop new approaches to deer management in urban areas. This includes the development of customised management partnerships that respond to local contexts and needs.

The report does not highlight specific limitations of the research but does list a number of future research recommendations, including piloting the Decision Support Framework, examining the similarities and differences within urban, peri-urban and rural environments in relation to value of deer and ecology of deer.

The Scottish Government has stated its intention to increase woodland cover from 18% towards 25% of land area by 2050. This will rely heavily on publicly funded grant schemes to encourage woodland creation on private land. At present required rates of woodland expansion are un-met. The benefits of new woodland are not guaranteed and depend on woodland type, spatial characteristics and cultural context. This paper reviews the rationale behind the current desire for expansion in Scotland and the barriers to its realisation. It concludes by identifying areas for further research, emphasising benefit distribution, changing perceptions, and greater outcome evaluation.

Deer control largely relies on a voluntary approach. However, cull targets are not always met with landowners seemingly unable or unwilling to meet the cull targets. The paper examines the alternatives to the voluntary approach, supported by results from a mail questionnaire to landowners and recreational hunters across Scotland. Subsidies and taxation are potentially possible, however there is no funding or legislative power for such a scheme to be introduced. A tradeable 'obligations' system could build on the existing voluntary approach and allow landowners to trade culling obligations to neighbouring estates. This could be less bureaucratic and inefficient compared to traditional regulatory approaches and could meet environmental targets. It could allow estates to continue the tradition of stalking with less of a dramatic change in management practice. The role of the State within this system would be minimal, setting the cull target and administration of the permit system.

The increasing prevalence of deer within the Central Belt of Scotland are producing a different perception of deer than popularly associated with the Scottish Highlands. This social and ecological research aimed to examine i) if deer presence was being felt by local communities in the Central Scotland and the benefits this presence may bring, ii) deer density figures within this area and whether this correlates with peoples' experience of deer presence.

The development of green corridors in urban areas to improve connectivity between habitat areas, e.g. Integrated Habitat Networks (SNH), Woodlands In And Around Towns (Forestry Commission), Living Waters (Froglife) and the importance of bings (Scottish term for derelict coal slag heaps) and brownfield sites.

This was the first study of its kind in Scotland. If population numbers were to increase substantially this may bring wider impacts e.g. deer vehicle collisions and damage to gardens and parks. In this study, it was not yet perceived as a problem.

The study calibrated and validated the data collected on mammal monitoring by 155 volunteers in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire. Volunteer tasks included small mammal trapping and handling, surveying and censusing for badgers, estimating deer population sizes (dung counting) and transect surveys for mammal field signs. Volunteers were analysed against age, gender, previous experience, physical fitness and aptitude on volunteer performance variables. Findings from the study were 1) accurate and reliable data was generated by tasks that involved techniques that could be taught without specialist training, 2) half a days training for an individual task could produce more reliable data, and 3) volunteer teams provided more time savings for many tasks. Volunteer produced data generally compared well to data gathered by more specialist methods or by professional researchers. Volunteers did require more time for tasks and despite underestimating population sizes, results were largely consistent. On a broader level, volunteering can help to raise environmental awareness among volunteers and improve individual understanding of woodland ecology.

The paper broadly explores stakeholder analysis and examines why the process should be incorporated within participatory natural resource management research. Among the examples included within the paper is the RELU 'Collaborative Frameworks in Land Management: A Case Study on Integrated Deer Management' project. The paper highlights the mobility of the deer resource alongside the broader socio-economic and cultural factors increasing the range of human-deer interactions across Scotland and in turn increasing the number of 'new' stakeholders. This has implications and challenges for more collaborative management. The authors identify the importance in knowing who the potential stakeholders are and the role that they may play within a collaboration deer management process.

Qualitative methods, e.g. semi-structured interviews, can be undertaken as part of research projects to examine stakeholder analysis. The interviews can include specific questions where the answers can be compared to other responses. Research can often include 'core' actors, therefore it can be helpful to refocus research to be able to incorporate different stakeholders/actors. Consequently this may identify potential new partnerships and collaborative relationships between stakeholders in practice.

Stakeholder analysis research could still be developed and refined further. This could help to make them more useful, easily accessible and less time consuming for managers and organisations to be able to adopt such methods within their management practices.

The paper examines Deer Management Groups (DMGs) and the increasingly variable levels of collaboration that exist across the different groups. It highlights the increasing number of stakeholders involved with these groups due to the mobility of deer across institutional and landowner boundaries. The impact of newly emergent stakeholders are identified when engaging with, influencing and/or by-passing existing institutions such as DMGs. The different stakeholders involved highlights the diversity of cultures involved. Working collaboratively requires a level of connectivity between these different stakeholders and cultures.

Institutions like DMGs can be used to help facilitate managers to work collaboratively if there are issues to be resolved. The groups do not need to reach a consensus but should instead, 'allow the opportunity [for managers] to follow different directions and allow consensus on the legitimacy of the range of objectives'. Effective communication is therefore key to allow the exchange of knowledge and cultures between the different members.