You want a healthy herd of deer, in numbers that don’t cause environmental damage, and visible enough to admire in Scotland’s beautiful Highlands? Apparently, the Scottish government doesn’t want that. It wants deer slaughtered at night. Scottish deer manager Niall Rowantree, with deer scientist Dr Cathy Mayne, explains how the Scottish Government is failing its most iconic animal, and how the current massacres of animals in the Highlands will not solve the problems they set out to solve.
- Niall runs West Highland Hunting
- For Niall’s portable winch, search PCW3000
More from Niall:

What’s in Niall’s sack? – Essential deer stalking kit
What kit does a professional deer manager take on every outing? Niall Rowantree goes through the contents of his Napier Roe Sack: gloves, knife, saw

British Shooting Show 2025 – new rifles, prizewinners and tech
Join Charlie Jacoby on a wander round the British Shooting Show 2025 looking for interesting kit, prize draws, British marques and some new thermal launches.

Future of deer with Niall Rowantree and Prof Rory Putman – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 102
youtu.be/1gSl6iHEEyM Deerstalker and wildlife manager Niall Rowantree talks to deer biologist Professor Rory Putman about the remarkable sika deer, as part of our filming of

A Year in the Life of Sika
Sika deer have become firmly established in the UK following escapes from private collections, but due to their secretive nature their success has largely gone

New Chinese hunting tech: HIKMicro experience 2024
Future hunting tech: Niall Rowantree and David head to HIKMicro HQ in China to see for themselves the exciting new technology we’ll be using for

Why reindeer click with the Sami
Did you know that reindeer’s back legs click when they walk? Scottish deer manager Niall Rowantree is in Swedish Lapland learning all about Santa’s little

Don’t go ‘nuclear’ with thermal deer control
www.youtube.com/watch?v=khlu2bcZC5U Scotland faces big changes in the way it manages deer. The government wants the animals gone, and is introducing nightshooting, thermal shooting and removing

Niall Rowantree and the thermal deerstalking debate
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0QSSuIxfIc Will thermal optics revolutionise deerstalking? Deer manager Niall Rowantree has his doubts, as he explains on the range, showing off his ideal set-up for

Scottish vs Swedish salmon fishing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMfkCemLIeo The River Kalix is one of Swedish Lapland’s premier salmon rivers – and that’s where Niall Rowantree goes to try for a fish. Unlike

Niall’s Swedish elk adventure
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBxms_rO9NA Take a Scottish wildlife expert to Scandinavia and his imagination runs away with him. Niall Rowantree is elk hunting in Swedish Lapland. While there,

Hunting ‘rare’ capercaillie with a Blaser drilling
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDp6t3Kgo_s Niall Rowantree is in Swedish Lapland to shoot capercaillie over Finnish spitz. Plus he tries out a Blaser D99 drilling in 7×57, and he

Will tree mania kill Scottish deer stalking?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wRLeXeMhZo Niall Rowantree and Dr Cathy Mayne go hindstalking with heavy hearts. They have to help bring down deer numbers so that Scottish landowners can