Since August 2025, Michael has been hard at work having meaningful conversations with stakeholders across the county; co-ordinating a considered approach to collaborative deer management, which mitigates pressures on habitat and crop loss, whilst ensuring highly nutritious and ethically sourced meat can reach our local communities. Below, Michael shares his latest update on what has been achieved so far, and what comes next.
NFWAG’s Norfolk Deer Strategy has, since its inception in July 2025 built a collaborative landowner base of over 84,000 hectares (207,500 acres) which is collectively working towards better outcomes. And this total continues to grow, identifying areas that are crucial to building successful working partnerships and delivering the multiple benefits of structured and coordinated local and landscape deer management.
By identifying who is doing what and where, and recognising areas that have become sanctuary habitats, or where ineffective deer control is taking place the strategy is helping bring about the required changes. Advising on, and helping to implement farm focussed plans is helping landowners to reduce impacts to crops, forestry and nature recovery efforts, all of which have wider ecosystem benefits.
From the outset the clear objectives were to bring stakeholders together, to identify common problems, to promote awareness of the issues and seek acceptance of the need for effective control measures. Creating a provable evidence base that shows clear and understandable statistics of growth in population and range. Encouraging, training, and helping to mentor new and young people into an aging sector of essential work is paramount to our ongoing success.
We have built alliances with farming, forestry and nature organisations, local and national governmental bodies, and deer management organisations creating conduits which cascade information in all directions. This inclusive, open-arms approach has built trust, and paves the way for people to want to be part of the movement being created.
Each collaborating landowner has undertaken to supply annual cull data, share landholding details with SBI numbers to contribute to the Deer Strategy overview mapping system, and work with neighbouring landowners and their deer managers towards local and landscape deer management objectives. (All culling data is anonymised when presented externally).
Venison, we are starting to build networks of supplier/producers, processors, direct sales and retail outlets. This network is growing, and venison from Norfolk farms is appearing in Norfolk farm shops, butchers, wholesalers, and on the menus of Norfolk schools and colleges. As this progresses we hope to have a map on the NFWAG website showing where high quality Norfolk venison can be acquired from.
There is a growing awareness of the nationwide deer problem, and thankfully the national press is starting to give positive views about the need for effective controls. In Norfolk, we are already on the ground, taking to landowners, solving problems, sleeves rolled-up and getting on with the job! Positive actions for positive outcomes.
