Horror as woman finds pile of deer heads near Highland beauty spot
Cannich described as ‘a slaughterhouse’ over cull of 900 deer

By Mel Fairhurst

P&J: Published: 19/03/2011

A woman spoke yesterday of her horror at discovering a pile of deer heads while out walking her dogs near one of Scotland’s most picturesque villages.

Angela Muir has dubbed Cannich in Inverness-shire “the slaughterhouse of the Highlands” after making the grim find, and because residents regularly witness truck-loads of dead deer being driven through the village.

Ms Muir, 46, who runs the local Slaters’ Arms, said it is all part of a mass cull of 900 deer by the Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) that started nearly a year ago.

The commission say they need to control the deer population to protect young trees and habitats and the cull extends over more than 100sq miles from Cannich to the far end of Glen Affric.

But some villagers say a “mass murder” of the animals is being committed in front of their eyes and carcasses are being regularly driven through the village for all to see.

Ms Muir was left sickened last Thursday after finding stag heads while walking in Dunedin Woods.

She said: “I saw a mass of crows which were obviously excited about something. The dogs went to find out what was happening and started rolling about.

“I realised they were rolling in blood coming from stag heads which had been left on the ground. I was sickened.”

Ms Muir added: “Last year, a field was used to slaughter deer at about 6.30am, which could easily be seen by villagers. It was horrendous.

“You can see some very young and pregnant females had been shot. I would say they have wiped out deer over the past two seasons. It would be a miracle if the population ever recovers.”

She added: “Deer add a huge part to the tourism industry, because people come from all over the world to see them here.

“The money used to kill the animals could be used to repair and build fences to stop deer from roaming.

“The slogan for the village should be Cannich – the slaughterhouse of the Highlands,” she added.

Iain Thornber, a deerstalker and land manager from Morvern, said such practices were giving reputable stalkers a bad name. He said contract stalkers were being brought in “just to pull a trigger” and were not concerned for the future of deer.

A spokesman for FCS said it would “review practices with the contractor” as a result of Ms Muir’s deer skulls discovery.

He said the heads had been removed because the contractor thought it might help transporting carcasses to the larder.

He explained that the heads had been covered and weighed down with stones but the tarpaulin had been removed.

He added: “We will continue to work closely with the Cannich community on this.

“Since we met the community council in January, we have kept to their request and not undertaken any culling on a Sunday."

Local councillor Drew Hendry said he had recently written to the FCS for the second time about the issue following concerns from residents.

Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2185693?UserKey=#ixzz1H2P3KbjQ

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