Deer Control at Holwell Nature Reserve
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
Public Statement
Deer Control at Holwell Nature Reserve
We understand there has been some public interest in our planned deer management programme at Holwell Nature Reserves. We set out here the full context of the issue and our deer management strategy.
We recently planted over 13,000 trees at Holwell Wood – a project which was part-funded by the Forestry Commission – the government department responsible for protecting, expanding and promoting the sustainable management of woodlands.
The Trust is now required under the terms of that grant to protect the new plantation. Our reserve staff have worked closely with colleagues at the Forestry Commission to find the most effective and sustainable approach to ensuring that this area of new woodland can grow to maturity, to the benefit of the wider landscape. This will also be for the benefit of the local community, who were so heavily involved in the planting of the new trees, and who will be able to enjoy this new woodland as it matures.
Nature, at its core, is a complex system of delicately-balanced ecosystems. Excessive population growth of one plant or animal, or the introduction of invasive species, can severely damage the natural balance of this environment. It can prevent the growth and maturity of newly created wildlife habitats and cause damage to existing areas. Our conservation management plans are continuously evolving, through science-based evidence, to manage this delicate balance across our reserves.
Deer are just one part of the mosaic that makes up a woodland habitat and are an important species that contribute positively to our biodiversity. They are also much loved and valued by people, especially for the pleasure of seeing them in the landscape.
Following meetings with the Forestry Commission Deer Officer, we were advised that the best option for the effective and sustainable management of this area would be to manage the numbers of Muntjac deer in the area, replicating a similar impact to that of natural predation, to ensure that the new woodland can grow to maturity.
Two officers independently carried out deer impact assessments (verified by a Deer Officer from the Forestry Commission) in the existing nature reserve and around the new woodland, and the scoring for this (as determined by Forestry England’s Deer Management Plan) identified that sensitive features were at risk and therefore deer control was necessary.
We see this activity as critical management for the creation of healthy woodland and would point out that this method of managing deer pressure is well-established, tested and adopted by other conservation organisations.
We believe that the culling of any wild animal should always be a last resort. It should only be carried out where culling is likely to make a significant contribution to addressing serious nature conservation issues for other species or habitats, and where there is good evidence that the issue cannot be tackled effectively in any other way.
Forestry Commission advice on fencing is that it works in small areas but when this is scaled up into a larger landscape, it simply pushes the deer into other woodland spaces, creating pressure and damage elsewhere.
Plastic guards have been placed around the trees to give protection for the first one to two years. This pre-emptive management is necessary so that when the guards are removed, and the saplings are still vulnerable to damage, the deer pressure has been and continues to be managed.
Signs will be put up making the public aware that management is underway with a Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust officer telephone number to contact if necessary. Deer control will not take place in areas which are accessible to the public and only well-trained, experienced, and capable deer managers will undertake this work. They will abide by the relevant Code of Practice and all safety guidelines.
Deer management will only be carried out when the deer impact assessment and advice from the Forestry Commission Deer Officer advises us to do so for the benefit of the wider landscape.
As the custodians of the land, we are following a science-based approach to create the best future for the habitats and the Reserve which, when in balance, allows all wildlife to flourish.
Further information can be found on the Forestry Commission and Forestry England advice below
https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2000/01/fcin036.pdf
https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/managing-deer-the-nations-forests