Deer management

Find out everything you need to know about deer management from getting started, to what you can shoot, right through to honing your skills.

What is deer management?

Deer management is necessary to protect habitats and their associated species, forestry and agricultural crops.

Deer are prolific breeders and, if numbers are allowed to increase unchecked, they may become prone to starvation and disease. They are also involved in 74,000 annual recorded vehicle collisions each year.

Deer are also a significant problem for farmers and foresters in many areas and will damage and destroy crops if left unchecked.

BASC promotes sustainable deer management across the UK by providing advice to members on habitat and species management, developing and supporting best practice, offering deer stalking opportunities and influencing government policy. If you’re a BASC member and have a question for our deer management team, get in touch here.

What do I need?

Everything you need in your kit to be a successful deer stalker.

How can I try it?

Find out how you can get involved in the rapidly growing pastime.

What can I shoot?

Find out more about the six deer species that can be shot in the UK.

Deer management advice

Get all your questions answered in our advice hub.

BASC deer courses

Find out about the courses we run, dedicated to deer stalking and management.

Stalking schemes

Find out more about the exclusive deer stalking schemes we have in operation.

Register of competent deer stalkers

Opening up new deer management opportunities for BASC members.

Deer Stalking Code of Practice

The code provides a comprehensive guide to deer stalking.

Self-regulation and shooting

For shoots looking to elevate their commitment to self-regulation, assurance schemes provide an avenue to do so.

Deer stalking knowledge check

Want to check your deer stalking knowledge? Take our free online test.

The Wild Game Guide

The Wild Game Guide provides information on the hygiene regulations for food businesses that supply wild game for human consumption, and for people who hunt wild game and supply it either in-fur or in-feather or as small quantities of wild game meat.

The guide is available to download in full from the link below, along with the photo annex and the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan.

As of April 2021, if you have completed your DSC2 qualification, you will have achieved ‘trained hunter’ status for large game (ie. deer).