Deer Management

Deer management helps protect wildlife, crops, and habitats. By controlling overpopulation, we safeguard vulnerable birds like nightjar and woodcock, reduce crop losses, and prevent road accidents. Sustainable deer control also promotes the ethical supply of nutritious, local venison.

Why is Deer Management necessary?

Deer management plays a crucial role in maintaining a balanced, healthy environment. Without natural predators, deer populations in the UK, estimated at over 2 million, are growing rapidly. In the Norfolk Broads, surveys show a 10 to 15 percent annual increase, leading to overgrazing, habitat degradation, and crop losses.

This overpopulation threatens vulnerable species such as the nightjar, nightingale, and woodcock, which depend on healthy woodlands and grasslands for survival. Excessive browsing also reduces woodland regeneration by over 50 percent, risking long-term forest health and biodiversity.

Red Deer Stag - Native Species

For farmers, unmanaged deer can cause significant financial damage, with UK-wide agricultural losses from deer browsing estimated at £4.3 million annually.

Some farms in affected areas experience yield losses of up to 50 percent. In addition, deer-vehicle collisions pose a major safety risk, with around 74,000 incidents reported each year across the UK, leading to hundreds of injuries and several fatalities.

Sustainable deer management helps reduce these risks, making our roads safer for everyone.

Sustainable Venison: A Win for People, Farmers and Wildlife

There are also benefits for human health and local economies. Venison is a lean, sustainable source of protein, containing 50 percent less fat than beef and packed with nutrients like iron and omega-3s.

By promoting the responsible consumption of wild venison, we support both biodiversity and a healthy, low-impact diet.

Fig 1: Deer trackway across potato crop, showing large groups traversing landscapes.

Norfolk FWAG’s Deer Strategy is working closely with landowners, deer managers and partner organisations to improve deer management, including the development of a countywide mapping system which shows where effective culling is taking place and records annual cull figures informing our decision support mechanisms. We are building in training, mentoring, CPD and best practice events to ensure that deer managers operating across Norfolk are safe, ethical and proficient. And we are creating supply chain networks to make sure that ethically sourced venison reaches local markets.

Together, we can protect the countryside, support farmers, foresters and nature conservation, and ensure the sustainable management of Norfolk’s deer population.

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