'Red Deer Stalking' in the North Highlands

We are walking to the Glen Dubh bothy when a white pony appears on the path ahead. A young man leads it towards us, while the body of a freshly killed stag lies across its back and blood runs into the pony’s white coat. For the young man, this is an ordinary working day on the edge of the Reay Forest. To my guests, confronted by the death of an animal they have spent their holiday hoping to see, it is deeply shocking.

Many of those guests come from countries where the activity would be described as hunting, but Highland stalking is not simply another name for shooting deer. The challenge is to locate an animal, understand the wind, use the folds of the landscape and approach closely enough to make a clean and humane shot. Several hours may be spent crossing rough ground, wading through bog and crawling through wet heather. Pulling the trigger occupies only a fraction of the day, and once the animal is dead, the carcass must still be removed from the hill.

The cost varies enormously. A winter day stalking hinds on an estate such as Achentoul may typically begin at around £150 to £300, providing the same physical experience without the value attached to a stag’s antlers. At the premium end, a week based around stag stalking on the Reay Forest may cost from £10,000 to more than £25,000 for an estate party. Such packages may combine accommodation, estate staff, guided stalking and access to extensive private ground, although prices and what they include must always be confirmed directly.

However uncomfortable the result may appear, deer cannot simply be left without control. Scotland no longer has a native large predator capable of regulating their numbers, while excessive grazing damages woodland, peatland and young trees. Too many deer also compete for limited winter food, leaving weaker animals to deteriorate slowly. At Loch Choire in Sutherland, NatureScot eventually intervened after the estate failed to control numbers sufficiently. Stalking therefore occupies an uneasy position between exclusive sport, estate economics and necessary wildlife management, which is precisely why it provokes such strong reactions.

To learn more, listen to the blogcast or book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.