A Mearns landowner who has found the roe deer population decimated on his estate fears poaching is spiralling out of hand.
Speaking on Sunday after being out with a shooting syndicate on his land, Maurice Forsyth-Grant, of Ecclesgreig, at St Cyrus said, “We had a lot of deer at the beginning of the year, the most I have ever known.
“But now there are hardly any. Something has been driving them out.
“We know there has been poaching going on in the parish over the last two years. I have even picked up the heads of very young calves which have been very badly shot.
“There are some very shady people out there who can go around without being seen. There is plenty of night vision equipment available relatively cheaply now. You don’t need to be waving spotlights around.
“I have been trying to keep an eye out for car tracks or anything out of the ordinary on the estate.
“But there hasn’t been anything obvious other than the deer have gone.”
Healthy roe deer can fetch up to £40 a head on the black market and though wildlife crime officers have launched a crackdown on the illegal venison trade, it is thought many of the slaughtered animals still end up in restaurants.Wildlife crimeMr Forsyth-Grant said, “There is too little effort and energy expended on this crime. We have a wildlife officer living nearby but he is covering the whole of Grampian and is pretty much a one-man show.”
Since 2008 Grampian Police have received 130 reports of deer poaching in the region, including a number of instances of animals being hunted by dogs for sport.
The force has already been contacted about 41 cases this year.
One of these involved the recent shooting of a female roe deer which was dumped in a lay-by near Kirkside House at St Cyrus on the road leading to the nature reserve.
The doe had been shot three or four times in the gut indicating the person responsible was not professionally trained.Illegal calibreDoes are also out of season and it is suspected an illegal calibre of weapon was used.
In addition to offences under the Deer Scotland Act 1996, police have also warned of a risk to public safety when people are involved in this criminality through discharging firearms.
They have conceded poaching in the area appears to be widespread and have appealed to members of the community to be vigilant and report any suspicious vehicles and activity to their service centre on 0845 6005700.
Hare coursing and salmon poaching are also a problem, with almost 200 reports to police since 2008.