Performance Paper 1 - Deer incentive schemes

This document contains an update on the Cairngorms National Park Authority's deer incentive scheme, which aims to reduce red deer numbers across the National Park to help nature recover, targeting a maximum of five to eight deer per square kilometre by 2030. The Park Authority offered financial incentives, like a venison subsidy, to two Deer Management Groups in the south of the National Park during the 2024/25 and 2025/26 hind culling seasons, using funding from the Scottish Government. While the scheme met its targets in the first year, paying out £28,000, cull levels in the second year are lower, and targets are unlikely to be fully met. This is because some estates believe deer are scarcer, challenging weather conditions have occurred, and there's a desire to maintain deer populations for stalking income. The Performance Committee will discuss these findings and their implications for future deer management and incentive schemes.