Sylva Foundation

Abstract Wild deer populations are increasing across the northern hemisphere, posing challenges to the environment and people. Deer impacts can be managed using lethal and non‐lethal practices, but research suggests lethal control receives mixed support. Differences in perspectives towards management practices may hinder collaborative, landscape‐scale strategies required to achieve resilient ecosystems and tree cover targets. Thus, understanding human‐deer relationships is crucial for sustainable deer management. To investigate perceptions towards deer and their management in England and Wales, we designed a questionnaire measuring the level of support for different actions to manage deer impacts and beliefs regarding the aesthetic and existence, environmental, economic and cultural‐symbolic value of deer. Targeting actors within and outside the land management, the questionnaire was distributed to subscribers of five national organisations, three focussing on wildlife management and two on woodland management. We collected data from 3936 people and, using cluster analysis, characterised groups of respondents based on their beliefs towards deer. We assessed variations between groups by socio‐demographic characteristics and support for lethal and non‐lethal management practices. Lethal control was the most supported and most used deer management practice, followed by tree guards and deer fencing. Our cluster analysis grouped respondents into 4 clusters. The cluster composed predominantly of deer stalkers (47%) held the most positive perceptions of deer and registered the highest support for lethal control and the highest opposition to deer fencing. Conversely, the cluster with the highest proportion of farmers (27%) and lowest proportion of stalkers (16%) expressed more neutral and negative opinions towards deer. There was no evidence of column clusters, indicating that beliefs did not cluster according to value dimensions (e.g. economic, environmental), suggesting that deer were valued similarly across all value dimensions. Differing opinions on deer and land management goals make it difficult for neighbours to collaborate on managing deer. Lethal control received strong support, which could ease concerns about recommending its use by nature organisations and decision‐makers who depend on public backing. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The values of forests have been extensively researched by focusing on general public perspectives with different frameworks used to categorise them. Studies have also explored forest manager values; however, there is limited evidence on the values they associate with specific tree species. Understanding more about managers’ values regarding a particular species is important when considering how they make decisions and might respond to tree pests and disease threats. In this study, we explored forest managers’ values regarding oak trees and the effects of a particular pest and disease risk known as Acute Oak Decline on these. This paper outlines the results from interviews with forest managers in England and a survey of private forest managers in Britain to capture the ways in which they value the oak trees they own, manage, or influence. Forest manager types included private owners of single or multiple properties, forestry professionals, businesses, and tenants. The results show that oaks were highly valued by forest managers as an iconic cultural species in the landscape and for their timber. Veteran and ancient oak trees were considered very important, and managers were more likely to spend time and resources attempting to conserve these oaks due to their perceived cultural value. Those who had trees that were suffering from Acute Oak Decline were also more likely to spend resources on them to save the trees or try to reduce the impact of the disease. Gaining a better understanding of forest managers’ attitudes towards protecting species they value is important as it has implications for their decision-making and management behaviours. It can also help to provide relevant bodies with information on how best to develop and communicate guidance and advice on monitoring and reporting disease symptoms, as well as managing oak tree health.