Deer management at Ashridge Estate

Ashridge EstateThe magnificent, ancient landscape of the Ashridge Estate is specially protected for the variety of habitats and species found here. The woodlands, commons, parkland and chalk downland are home to a wealth of plants, birds, bats, butterflies and other invertebrates, many of which are rare in the wider countryside.

The woodland is recognised as being of international importance and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. This means we are required by law to care for the environment in a way that allows this wide variety of flora and fauna to flourish.

Sallow Copse

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Deer were introduced to Ashridge in 1283 when a monastery was founded on the site where Ashridge House now stands. A deer park was built surrounding the monastery and fallow deer were brought in, kept within a fenced enclosure and hunted for food.

Over the centuries the park was expanded, but the deer remained within this fenced enclosure until 1925 when the estate was broken up and sold off.

At the time of the sale, the fences enclosing the park were removed and the fallow deer were released into the surrounding countryside,

free to roam across the landscape. Since then, the deer have travelled widely in the landscape, crossing land owned by many landowners and are truly wild animals.

The history of deer at Ashridge

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There are two types of deer at Ashridge Estate - Fallow and Muntjac. Fallow deer are medium-sized, the largest reaching nearly 1m at the shoulders. Bucks (male deer) can be recognised by their distinctive antlers with a broad flat centre.

Fallow deer come in a variety of colours. You’re most likely to see the dark, or melanistic, deer at Ashridge, but tan, spotty, or even white deer can also be seen.

Muntjac deer also live at Ashridge, they are small and stocky and are sometimes mistaken for wild boar. Originally brought in from Asia, it is thought that Muntjac deer may have escaped from Woburn in the late 19th century and are now widespread across much of England. They are a solitary species so you will never see them moving as a herd.

Types of deer found at Ashridge

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Fallow deer in the Old Dairy Field

Unfortunately, a large deer population does have an impact on woodland. Deer feed extensively on young trees (saplings) which would otherwise grow into mature trees, and on the shoots and leaves of thorny scrub species which prevents them from growing into a dense and varied shrub layer. A strong, healthy and diverse woodland should contain trees and shrubs of a variety of ages, from dense scrub to the medium and large old trees, for which Ashridge is famed and loved. As young sapling trees are prevented from growing to maturity, the woodlands are becoming increasingly even-aged.

This lack of diversity puts the future of the woodland at risk because all these trees will reach old age at the same time with no younger trees

following on behind them. This rich mix of woodland is essential to provide vital habitat for a huge range of birds, insects and other animals and sadly is under threat due to the high numbers of deer that live on the estate.

Much of the woodland at Ashridge is ancient woodland, with some trees dating back more than 500 years. It contains an irreplaceable wealth of fungi, invertebrates and flowers that aren’t found in newer woodlands. Many of the special plants have been decimated by the deer in the past, but are now beginning to show some encouraging small signs of recovery due to our current management regime.

Since being released from the deer park and without a natural predator, the population increased rapidly. It has become necessary to manage the deer population to ensure the future of biodiversity of this ancient landscape.

How deer impact woodland

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Browsing on tree saplings prevents them from growing to maturity

Every year, we undertake rigorous deer impact assessments. In other words, we go out and meticulously record the actual impact that the deer are having on our landscape. These assessments look at the regrowth of new trees and plants, tracks and footprints (or ‘slots’), dung, couches (laying up areas), nibbled vegetation and browse lines* across the woodland.

We also carry out two counts of the deer population each year - one manual count and one thermal imaging count. However, the deer at Ashridge are wild and roam freely across the landscape to neighbouring land far beyond our borders, so it is impossible to get an accurate number.

The counts are carried out in spring, before the fawns are born in June. At present at least a third of the deer regularly seen on the estate

are does (females) of breeding age. Most of these produce a new fawn each year, so the herd size can and does increase very rapidly.

In 2019 we commissioned external consultants, the Deer Initiative, to carry out a detailed survey of the impact of deer across the estate. This report confirms that despite an increased cull in recent years, deer activity is still a real threat to Ashridge.

Our deer management decisions are based on the impact that the deer are having in the landscape, rather than the number of deer present at any one time. We also know from our neighbouring farmers that deer damage to crops is a very significant issue for them. The increased cull has brought about an improvement that we want to maintain.

* browse lines are created by deer on trees andshrubs when they have eaten all the leaves from ground level up to the maximum height that a deer can reach

How we monitor deer

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Trees in woodlands without large numbers of deer grow leaves all the way to the groundBrowse lines clearly on the trees at Ashridge

The woodlands at Ashridge are specially protected by UK and European law and we have a particular responsibility to care for the health of the forest and the wildlife that relies upon it. This includes limiting the damage that the deer do to young tree saplings and wild flowers through uncontrolled browsing.

Deer have been culled at Ashridge for the last 50 years, however the population has continued to grow significantly putting the estate at risk from irreparable damage. In 2015 we introduced a deer management plan to try to limit the impact of the deer on the woodlands. In recent years we have been culling higher numbers of deer to try to bring the population under control.

Since we introduced the deer management plan the health of the deer has improved and the animals are now in better condition. They are no

longer feeding on toxic laurel and rhododendron leaves, are heavier and better fed as there is less competition for food.

Injured, sick and elderly deer are removed from the herd. We make sure that a balanced age distribution of deer remains within the herd to allow for natural hierarchical relationships to be maintained.

We have started to see signs of recovery with a reduction in browsing on tree saplings and an increase in the variety of plant species, particularly those associated with ancient

woodlands. Numbers of violet helleborine orchids are at their highest for 20 years. Greater stitchwort, moschatel, dog violets, primroses, and woodland ferns have all showed signs of recovery. Many of these plants are important sources of early spring nectar for insects. These are all positive signs that the plan is working but there is still a long way to go.

We are committed to maintaining a healthy herd of deer at Ashridge for generations to come, but do need to make sure that high numbers don’t put the woodland at risk.

Why we need to manage the population

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Bluebells enclosed behind a fence grow larger and stronger when deer are excluded from the area

The information gathered from the deer impact surveys and the population count is reviewed by a panel of nature conservation specialists from within the National Trust. They have an in-depth understanding of how we should manage the land we care for to ensure that we meet our statutory requirements and enable the widest possible range of species to thrive. This panel will agree on the number by which the herd should be reduced in order to limit the impact on the estate.

This number is under constant review to ensure that the welfare of the herd is maintained at all times.

How we agree the annual deer management plan

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Alternatives to cullingDeer management is a necessary part of our conservation work. Research has been carried out in the USA and Europe into contraceptive methods but there is no feasible way to administer contraception to a herd of wild deer that roam freely across the countryside. Attempting to capture a wild deer to administer an injection would not only cause considerable stress to the animal, but with such a large population, would not be practicable. It is not possible to approach wild deer within the range that darts can travel.

The regrowth on this coppice stool has been munched for several consecutive years, preventing the development of the shrub layer.

The stalkers work from the roadsides into the forest to try to reduce the chances of deer running onto roads. Quadbikes are used to safely retrieve carcasses from the land. Vehicles are never used to herd or drive deer into the path of the stalkers.

We updated our procedure several years ago to require that all of the main carcass and body parts of a culled deer are removed from the site. It remains true however, that the ‘gralloch’ (intestines and stomach) of culled deer are usually buried on site, away from main paths. This is common practice for deer stalkers across the country.

Occasionally, as a result of a deer fatality caused by a road traffic accident, or as a result of illegal poachers, people and their dogs may find parts of deer whilst out walking. If you see or suspect poaching we would urge you to report it immediately to the police. If you are able to safely take down registration numbers that’s useful but you should never put yourself at risk.

We never sell licenses for people to shoot at Ashridge. The deer management that takes place in our woodland is carried out for conservation reasons by professional deer stalkers.

Our deer stalkersThe deer management process is contracted out to external, professional deer stalkers following a strict tender process.

They operate to the very highest safety standards. They are all highly skilled marksmen who hold a level 2 Deer Stalking Certificate, a current firearms certificate and are licensed by us to shoot on National Trust land.

An independent, qualified expert puts every member of the team through a skills affirmation test every year and we also carry out an inspection on their firearm.

Ashridge is an entirely open landscape with hundreds of access points. The stalkers work in pairs and use rigorous methods to ensure that every shot is a safe shot.

Our stalkers all wear an armband with a National Trust identification card in it. All vehicles they use have a National Trust badge on them.

The deer cull usually begins in early November and lasts until early February with a short break over Christmas. The stalkers work from dawn to dusk throughout this period. Signage is put up on the estate when it is taking place.

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Dog violets growing in the Ashridge woodlands

The increase in culling in recent years has led to a change in the behaviour of the deer. They’re moving through the landscape in smaller groups, avoiding human contact, staying away from roads and only grazing on open land at dusk or under the cover of darkness.

This is entirely natural behaviour and how you would expect wild deer to behave. Parkland deer, which are kept within a fenced area, behave differently and are less cautious. It’s not usual to be able to get up close to a large herd of deer grazing in broad daylight outside of a fenced deer park.

This change in behaviour has led some visitors to think that there are very few deer left on the estate. However, this really isn’t the case; they are just reverting back to behaviour that is more natural for a herd of wild deer.

Changes in deer behaviour

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We do understand that people are seeing the deer less often. For those wishing to see deer, we’d recommend walking quietly and keeping dogs on a short lead. Choose parts of the estate that are away from roads and well used tracks. The best times of day to see deer are at dawn and dusk when they are most active. Deer are surprisingly hard to see within the tree canopy and it’s possible to pass very close to them without seeing them – you need to keep your eyes peeled. Peer though the trunks of the trees into the darkest places, looking for the give-away flick of a tail or the glint of a bright eye.

The deer here continue to be in excellent health and we remain committed to them remaining an important and highly valued part of this beautiful place.

Seeing deer on the estate

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Follow deer at Old Copse

Do we sell the venison?We sell the venison that arises from the cull. The income generated by venison sales is significantly less than the cost of the management. We do not gain financially from the cull.

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Thunderdell Wood

We’ve recently produced a 20 year Woodland Management Plan. The plan was produced in consultation with statutory bodies including Natural England, Historic England and the Forestry Commission, as well as local stakeholders and partners.

One of the main focusses of this plan is to restore ancient woodland sites which were inappropriately planted with conifers some 50 to 70 years ago. Over the next few years we’ll be removing conifers and replanting with native broadleaved species. Some of the replanted sections will be fenced initially to protect them from deer and give the young saplings the best chance of becoming established. The native species that we’ll be planting will support a much wider and more diverse range of insects, birds and flowering plants than the conifers that we’re removing.

We’ll also be creating space for more scrub, young trees and flowering plants to establish within the woodland to ensure that we provide food, pollen and shelter for the birds, butterflies, bees and bats that make Ashridge their home.

This is all part of our work to meet our obligations to protect this very special and precious habitat.

If you have any further queries relating to our deer management practices you can email us at ashridge@nationaltrust.org.uk or call 01442 841800.

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Ashridge Estate – For ever, for everyone

Bluebells in Dockey Wood

Moneybury Hill, Ringshall, Near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1LTTelephone 01442 841800 Email ashridge@nationaltrust.org.uk

Photography: ©National Trust Images / ©National Trust 2019. The National Trust is an independent registered charity, number 205846

Ashridge Estate