Friday, February 25, 2011

SCOTLAND NEWS: Wild Muntjac Not Welcome

There are no wild populations of muntjac deer in Scotland, and a recent order (Muntjac Keeping-Scotland Order 2011) was decreed to keep it that way. Any muntjac in the wild is to be killed on sight.

According to Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead:

"They're widespread in south and central England but have a patchy distribution between the Humber and the Scottish borders. They are destructive animals, or invasive species to use the more modern term. They can have significant negative impacts in the wild, both to biodiversity and economic interest."

They can damage orchards, cereal crops, coppice woods and bluebells, he said, and have been known to add to accident risks on roads.


Source: The Press Association