England’s deer management plan is asking woodlands to stop operating as an all you can eat buffet, after one third of them were found to be damaged by deer.
The ten year plan aims to help landowners, foresters and farmers protect young trees. Deer browse shoots and trample ground, which can prevent woodland from renewing itself. England has therefore discovered that planting a tree is only the opening ceremony. The next step is persuading a hungry mammal not to assess it with its teeth.
Native deer remain an iconic part of the countryside and play a role in healthy woodland. The difficulty begins when an animal celebrated as part of nature starts treating the future of nature as lunch. Three of England’s six deer species are non native, giving the woodland buffet a surprisingly international menu.
Graham Gate, a woodland ranger with muddy boots and a very patient clipboard, has the expression of a man who has watched several generations of saplings become snacks. He is not asking deer to abandon the countryside. He would merely like them to stop conducting every young oak review orally.
The measures include national priority areas, support for landowners, coordinated work and action on publicly owned land. There are also proposals to streamline licensing and support the wild venison market. The government is planting millions of trees while encouraging people to eat the creatures preventing some of them from growing. It is a wonderfully efficient policy, provided the trees survive long enough to appreciate the efficiency.
The estimated share of England’s woodlands affected by deer has risen from 24 per cent in the early 2000s to 33 per cent today. Ground flora, scrub and habitats for other species are affected too. Even the plants at the bottom of the food chain appear to have discovered that nobody has appointed them a minister.
So the plan is serving notice. The woodland remains open to wildlife, farmers and foresters, but the buffet is closing early. Young trees have been advised to grow quickly, hide their branches and stop looking so much like lunch. If that fails, England can always plant another policy around them.
