Chief Constables have operational responsibility for firearms licensing. However, as set out in the Deer Impacts Policy Statement published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) on 2 March.

The Home Office will work with the National Police Chief’s Council and Defra to explore whether the existing Guide on Firearms Licensing Law might be amended to encourage police forces to consider requiring those who use their firearms to shoot deer lawfully to first be able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in doing so.

Any proposed changes to the Guide will be subject to discussions with stakeholders.

The Deer Impacts Policy Statement does not state that mandatory training is required for deer managers.

It outlines that Defra will work with the Home Office and National Police Chief’s Council to explore whether the Guide on Firearms Licensing Law could be amended to encourage police forces to consider requiring that those seeking to use relevant firearms to shoot deer are first able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in doing so.

It also outlines that Defra will continue to support the England and Wales Best Practice Guides and make funding available for appropriate training, particularly in the case of those seeking to grant support for lethal control of deer.

Demonstration of a minimum level of competence can ensure the safe, humane and effective management of deer, especially by new entrants to the sector. This includes the ability to identify deer species, understand their biology, and ensure that shots are correctly placed, benefiting deer welfare and quality wild venison production. Public safety must also be considered. It can also can ensure an understanding of legislation.

The Deer Act 1991 (as amended) governs the time of year (and day) when deer can be lethally controlled and also the firearm/ammunition combination that must be used to achieve this. Where licensing is required to permit activities that would otherwise be prohibited such as night shooting, minimum thresholds with regard to the experience and competencies of those applying are required to ensure humane, effective and safe deer control.

The Deer Impacts Policy Statement does not state that mandatory training is required for deer managers.

It outlines that Defra will work with the Home Office and National Police Chief’s Council to explore whether the Guide on Firearms Licensing Law could be amended to encourage police forces to consider requiring that those seeking to use relevant firearms to shoot deer are first able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in doing so.

It also outlines that Defra will continue to support the England and Wales Best Practice Guides and make funding available for appropriate training, particularly in the case of those seeking to grant support for lethal control of deer.

Demonstration of a minimum level of competence can ensure the safe, humane and effective management of deer, especially by new entrants to the sector. This includes the ability to identify deer species, understand their biology, and ensure that shots are correctly placed, benefiting deer welfare and quality wild venison production. Public safety must also be considered. It can also can ensure an understanding of legislation.

The Deer Act 1991 (as amended) governs the time of year (and day) when deer can be lethally controlled and also the firearm/ammunition combination that must be used to achieve this. Where licensing is required to permit activities that would otherwise be prohibited such as night shooting, minimum thresholds with regard to the experience and competencies of those applying are required to ensure humane, effective and safe deer control.

The deer impacts policy statement sets out a plan to sustainably manage wild deer in England so that they are not a threat to environmental, social or economic goals. It does not set targets for individual species as impacts vary across the country, depending on the number of species present, their activities and levels of abundance in an area. We are encouraging regional and landscape-scale approaches.

Defra will seek to review relevant invasive deer species, with respect to potentially listing them as species of special concern alongside Muntjac.

The department has made no assessment of the potential merits of amending existing legislation to prohibit stag hunting with hounds.

The department has made no assessment of the potential impact of the use of exemptions in the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting on stag population numbers in the South West.

My Department has made no assessment of deer populations and road safety.

We recognise that drivers are at risk of collisions with wild animals. Traffic signs warning that wild animals, including deer, may be in the road ahead are available for local authorities to install where they consider it appropriate. Advice on their use is given in Chapter 4 of the Traffic Signs Manual, available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual.

Defra supports survey programmes that assess the ecological condition of woodlands in England. This includes the National Forest Inventory woodland ecological condition assessment, which indicated in 2020 that 40% of woodland habitat in unfavourable condition due to herbivore damage, including from deer. A further large-scale woodland survey, known as the Bunce survey, reported in 2024 that 33% of English woodlands are impacted by deer.

Defra funded an assessment of the cost of invasive non-native species to Great Britain in 2023 as part of the GB Invasive Non-native Species Strategy. This included invasive non-native species of deer and indicated that their impacts result in costs to society of around £47.7 million annually.

Defra provides a range of support to help manage deer impacts on woodlands. This includes grants for deer management, projects and capital items such as fencing, and funding a dedicated team of Deer Officers within the Forestry Commission to provide advice.

The Home Office does not hold any data on the number of incidents related to deer management reported by police forces, or how many required an armed police response.

While the Home Office does collect and publish annual statistics on the number of police firearms operations, the data excludes operations involving discharges for animal destruction and does not include any details of the nature of the incidents.

The latest available data for the year ending 31 March 2025 can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-april-2024-to-march-2025

The Home Office does not hold any data on the number of incidents related to deer management reported by police forces, or how many required an armed police response.

While the Home Office does collect and publish annual statistics on the number of police firearms operations, the data excludes operations involving discharges for animal destruction and does not include any details of the nature of the incidents.

The latest available data for the year ending 31 March 2025 can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-april-2024-to-march-2025

Defra provides a wide range of support to help landowners and managers tackle deer impacts on woodlands. This includes grants for managing their impacts and for capital items, as well as funding of relevant projects, including those that facilitate landscape scale action.

A dedicated Forestry Commission team of Deer Officers is in place, providing nationwide advice, facilitating grant support and encouraging landscape scale collaborative management.

Natural England are leading the Sussex Woods Protected Sites Strategy pilot, focused on reducing deer impacts on protected woodlands, which includes supporting landowners and managers to work together at scale to manage deer impacts.

We are considering plans for further action on deer impacts management and will outline these, including any implications for the existing regime for the licensing of managing deer at night, in due course.

Defra provides a wide range of support to help landowners and managers tackle deer impacts on woodlands. This includes grants for managing their impacts and for capital items, as well as funding of relevant projects, including those that facilitate landscape scale action.

A dedicated Forestry Commission team of Deer Officers is in place, providing nationwide advice, facilitating grant support and encouraging landscape scale collaborative management.

Natural England are leading the Sussex Woods Protected Sites Strategy pilot, focused on reducing deer impacts on protected woodlands, which includes supporting landowners and managers to work together at scale to manage deer impacts.

We are considering plans for further action on deer impacts management and will outline these, including any implications for the existing regime for the licensing of managing deer at night, in due course.

Defra provides a wide range of support to help landowners and managers tackle deer impacts on woodlands. This includes grants for managing their impacts and for capital items, as well as funding of relevant projects, including those that facilitate landscape scale action.

A dedicated Forestry Commission team of Deer Officers is in place, providing nationwide advice, facilitating grant support and encouraging landscape scale collaborative management.

Natural England are leading the Sussex Woods Protected Sites Strategy pilot, focused on reducing deer impacts on protected woodlands, which includes supporting landowners and managers to work together at scale to manage deer impacts.

We are considering plans for further action on deer impacts management and will outline these, including any implications for the existing regime for the licensing of managing deer at night, in due course.

Defra has no current plans to increase resource allocation for wildlife licensing applications under the Deer Act 1991.

The Home Office assesses applications for the use of animals in science under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This legislation is not the same as wildlife licensing applications.

The Secretary of State regularly meets colleagues in the Devolved Governments through the Interministerial Group. No specific discussions on sustainable red deer management have taken place.

As this is a devolved matter, any conversations with Scottish landowners on management of red deer would be conducted by the Scottish Government.

We recognise new and existing woodlands are under pressure from increasing damage caused by over-foraging of young trees and woodland flora by wild deer. We are considering how to go further to reduce these impacts and will provide an update in due course. Defra provides a range of grant support to individuals and for projects, to help landowners and managers tackle deer impacts. We have also invested in relevant research and provide guidance and in-person advice, including via dedicated Deer Officers within the Forestry Commission.