Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) inviting deer and wildlife management professionals to help shape the way that it tenders for deer culling contracts.

Interested businesses are invited to help explore the potential of a more strategic approach to contracting and generate ideas to deliver these services in a different way; which aims to  reduce administration, create avenues for market growth and more jobs.

Trefor Owen, FLS Director of Land Management, said;

“We are looking to simplify our deer management by grouping contracts together where that makes sense for us and for suppliers, and move towards a longer term and more collaborative procurement model.

“With less administration it will be more streamlined and it will give us a chance to establish longer term collaborative relationships with suppliers. And because aggregation will mean managing deer over larger areas, we think that there will also be opportunities for businesses to grow and create more jobs.  

“As we’ve found in the past, hitting on a system that works best for everyone is not easy. The PIN process will help us discover if there other innovative ideas within the marketplace that might help us achieve our objectives, so we would encourage anyone with ideas to take part.”

FLS would like to hear from deer and wildlife businesses throughout March and April before running the tender between May and August 2021. Responses are required by 9^th April 2021.

Deer culling services are required to protect investments made in planting young trees and protecting habitats with the spin-off benefit of supporting Scotland’s venison processing sector.

Notes to editors

1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.

2. forestryandland.gov.scot | twitter.com/ForestryLS

3. Media enquiries to Paul Munro, Media Manager, Forestry and Land Scotland Media Office 07785 527590 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.