Deer Management for Forestry and Woodland Owners
Free deer management for woodland owners, forest managers, and forestry businesses across Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire, East Lancashire, South Durham, and Teesside. Deer counts, impact assessments, and selective culling to an agreed plan, so restocking and new planting can establish and timber quality holds up.
Or call Chris on 07397 942663. He'll call you back the same day.
Why it matters
What deer mean for woodland and timber
A third of English woodland is affected
Government evidence is that a third (33%) of English woodlands are negatively affected by deer, up from about a quarter in the early 2000s. See Defra's Deer Impacts Policy Statement.
Establishment, restocking, and timber quality
Confor lists reduced success of woodland creation and restocking, poorer stem form and timber quality, and higher establishment and maintenance costs among the effects on commercial forestry. See how deer damage hits establishment and timber.
Regulation is moving towards deer planning
Defra plans for felling licences to consider deer impacts, and for woodland management plans to include a deer management statement or plan where appropriate. See what the policy statement means for woodland owners.
How it works
From a deer count to a plan you can use
1. Count the deer and assess the impact
A free deer survey: which species are present, a deer count by species, where they move, and the damage to plantings, regeneration, and standing trees, using walked surveys, trail cameras, and dawn and dusk counts with binoculars and thermal where they help. The result is a clear, plain-language summary you can use in a plan or an application.
2. Agree a plan
Where action is needed, it's built around a plan agreed with you. That can mean protection, culling, or both. It's the minimum needed to keep damage within acceptable limits, not a target number. If a forest manager or agent looks after the woodland, the plan is agreed with them as well as the owner.
3. Control deer safely and humanely
Selective culling and control within close seasons and firearms law, with a safe backstop for every shot. High seats are ideal for increasing safety in tricky areas. A night licence is only applied for where it's absolutely necessary, never as routine.
4. Keep watching, and make use of the carcass
Trail cameras can stay in place so any further work is based on what's actually on the ground. Trained Person status means each carcass is properly inspected on site, so the venison can enter the food chain.
Common questions
Questions woodland managers ask
Yes. If a forest manager or agent looks after the woodland, the plan is agreed with them as well as the owner, and the work is fitted around planting, restocking, and other operations on site.
Yes. There's no charge to landowners, including woodland owners, for the survey or for culling carried out under an agreed plan. If you manage woodland on behalf of an owner, get in touch and we'll talk it through. See [why free deer management makes sense](/blog/why-free-deer-management-makes-sense).
It gives you the evidence a plan needs: species, numbers, and impact. Woodland and stewardship schemes such as [PA7](/blog/pa7-species-management-plan-deer-explained) and [CWS1](/blog/cws1-deer-control-and-management-explained) ask for it, and our [grants and funding guide](/grants-funding) covers what each scheme pays for.
Deer can't be shot at night without a licence, and a night licence is only applied for where it's absolutely necessary, never as routine. Thermal is mainly used for spotting and counting deer.
Roe, muntjac, fallow, and red deer are the species most often surveyed and managed. Sika are covered too, but they're far less frequent on the land we manage. Our [tree guard height guide](/tree-guard-heights) shows the protection each needs.
It depends on the site, and the two often work together. Fencing and guards protect trees while deer numbers are brought into balance. Our guide to [fencing, guards, or culling](/blog/fencing-guards-or-culling-which-deer-control-method) compares them.
Coverage
Where we work
We work with landowners and farmers across North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire, East Lancashire, South Durham, Teesside. See every town and village we cover, read our case studies, or check the deer calendar for what deer are doing each month.
Related: deer stalking for landowners, grants and funding for woodland and deer culling and control.
Deer affecting your woodland?
Call, text, or email Chris with where the woodland is and what you're seeing. A conversation costs nothing, and neither does the survey.
Or call Chris on 07397 942663. He'll call you back the same day.