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The only other equipment that has been purchased in the last five years for use in net zero messaging has been a refurbished iPad, which was purchased in financial year 2023-24 at a cost of £500.

Deer numbers in forested or woodland environments are very difficult to estimate due to dense cover and the mobile nature of deer.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS)

FLS estimate Scotland’s National Forests and Land’s (SNFL), deer population to be around 130,000 deer. This estimate is based on culling data. The break-down by species is as follows:

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the revenue these organisations have received from deer management activities is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS income from deer carcasses, the associated bye-products and fees from leases/permissions for recreational stalking, has amounted to:

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS collects data, on a daily basis, for each deer culled on SNFL by its Wildlife Rangers and contractors, and on a monthly basis for recreational stalkers.

The data collected includes; species, sex, whether adult, yearling or juvenile, lactating females or whether a foetus is present, the presence of disease, the date, time, location (6-figure grid reference) and forest structure in which the deer was shot, whether it was shot by an FLS ranger, contractor or recreational stalker, shot placement, the larder in which the carcass was processed/chilled and length of time in the larder, carcass weight, whether shot under out of season or night shooting authorisation, and the end-use of the carcass (ie private sale, sold to venison dealer or is for domestic use by recreational stalker).

NatureScot

In addition to the annual cull data that NatureScot collects they also make regular and frequent assessments of deer populations on the NNRs it manages. This is done on a priority basis with the larger NNRs where deer management is a priority They use a range of techniques including; helicopter, drone and foot counts as well as dung counting. They also undertake Herbivore Impact Assessments to better understanding the impacts of the deer on the vegetation and habitats.

Scottish Water

Scottish Water does not monitor or keep records of deer numbers on their operational property, the data they do collect relates only to their rural catchment estate in East Grampian and is provided in the answers to S6W-34627 and
S6W-34630 on 26 February 2025.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government own 126 bulls to operate the crofting cattle improvement scheme, however for the majority of the year these bulls are kept on crofters own holdings.

We do not hold information on the numbers of livestock owned and managed by our farm and croft tenants.

We do not hold this information.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is set as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

The number of deer culled on Scotland’s National Forests and Land (SNFL) 640,000 hectares in each of the last five complete culling seasons is as follows:-

2020 £22244.75

2021 £17596.71

2022 £18675.86

2023 £34395.19

2024 £35329.33

All deer culled on Scottish Government land are culled by shooting, which is undertaken by appropriately trained staff to ensure the highest standards of public safety and deer welfare and who adhere to the code of practice set by the Wild Deer Best Practice group.

The bicycles were not purchased by the Scottish Government, but by the Energy Saving Trust. Details of the two bicycles are:

Bicycle 1: a) Make: Urban Arrow b) Model: Flatbed XL Cargo Line 500Wh with Flight Case c) Cost: No cost to Scottish Government, as it was gifted. d) Country of origin: the Netherlands.

Bicycle 2: a) Make: Butcher and Bicycles b) Model: Mk1 Vario c) Cost: No cost to Scottish Government, as it was gifted d) Country of origin: Denmark.