Controversy over 'early' deer cull

“At this time, some youngsters – particularly late ones – will depend on the mothers for survival.

“Although best practice dictates that young should be shot before the mother, this will not always happen.

"It places a big responsibility upon individual deer managers. In September, vegetation is waist high. Young are easily camouflaged and can be missed. Similarly, it can be difficult to identify which calf belongs to which mother or family group."

Mr Hogg also pointed to the financial incentives offered to contractors and the suggestion they were being rewarded simply on numbers culled, rather than on selection.

Too small

Additionally, it seems game dealers will not collect culled calves simply because they are too small to have any value.

A spokesperson for Forestry and Land Scotland said: “Our approach to deer management is fully compliant with the law, is recognised as best practice and is backed by data on increasing deer populations and impacts derived both from our own extensive surveys and the recent independent deer working group report that cited an imminent total deer population in Scotland of one million.

“Additional culling is therefore required to protect young trees and halt losses in biodiversity. At any one time on Scotland’s national forests and land there are between 75m and 100m trees vulnerable to damage from deer, representing millions of pounds of investment in public forests.

“We are absolutely committed to the highest standards of welfare for all animals, including deer.”