Challenge 9.4

Why does this Challenge need to be solved?

Wildlife Rangers are indispensable to the ability of FLS to achieve its biodiversity targets, ecological restoration ambitions, and help enable the Scottish Government's response to the Deer Working Group recommendations.

Achieving a range of forestry and biodiversity objectives will only be achieved by reducing deer numbers in certain locations. Humane culling of deer by professional Wildlife Rangers and suitably trained and qualified contractors is, and will continue to be, a critical component of land management on Scotland’s National Forests and Land.

After an animal has been humanely culled, Wildlife Rangers will attempt to recover the carcass and transport it to a larder, where it enters the human food supply chain. After gralloching the animal on-site, the Wildlife Ranger will manually handle the carcass to the nearest transport infrastructure. In some locations this might be a track suitable for All Terrain Vehicles, or it might be a forest road. Sometimes the distance and terrain is not too onerous. Many of Scotland’s landscapes do not have good access infrastructure and the terrain can be challenging. Dragging a deer which might weigh up to 120kg off the side of a mountain, through standing and felled forests, ditches, watercourses, peat bogs and rocky slopes, is extremely hard, physical, time consuming work that has a risk of injury. Culling a deer might mean committing that Wildlife Ranger to five or more hours of hard physical labour, time that they could instead be committing their considerable skills to other wildlife priorities in the area.

This current situation is not making best use of Wildlife Ranger time, it means some locations are too difficult to manage deer to the level required. It restricts the type of people who can do this work. Carcasses can become spoiled if they take too long to transport to the refrigeration units at the larder, or if environmental contaminants become embedded in the carcass during transportation.

Can the process of getting deer carcasses from the forests and land and into the human food chain be made easier and safer, in a way that is cost affective?

How will we know the Challenge has been solved?

The challenge will be delivered if the solution delivers across six key areas:

• “safely” – reduction in the amount of time and distance Wildlife Rangers spend carrying/dragging heavy loads. Reduction in slips, trips, falls and injuries.

• “quicker for the Wildlife Ranger” – less time spent overall on transporting each carcass

• “quickly for the carcass” – Carcass temperature must be reduced to 7 degrees Celsius within a reasonable time. Therefore the concept of quick includes both a time and a temperature dimension that can be explored.

BELOW IS EXACT WORDING OF THE SQWV PRODUCER STANDARDS THAT WE WORK TO:

“3.1.8 Carcases must be transferred to the larder as soon as possible after despatch and actively chilled to a temperature of 7°C or less within a reasonable period of time after killing and achieve a temperature throughout the meat of not more than 7°C. (Active chilling is not required where the climatic conditions are suitable e.g. ambient temperature is less than 5-7°C). The time of culling time of and time into chill must be recorded for each carcass.”

In winter the ambient temp may be below 7 degrees.

• “cost effectively” this needs to compare to other methods, so distance and difficulty. The cost of Wildlife Ranger time, building ATV infrastructure etc.

• “maintaining good condition” – no environmental contaminants on the carcass after transportation, based on a visual inspection at the larder

• “easily” needs to not require a large amount of time and skill to learn. Needs to be as easy to use as a quad bike. Needs to be flexible to the situation on the day, can’t rely on extensive, detailed advanced plans (an example would be having to submit a flight plan the day before).

Who are the end users likely to be?

FLS Wildlife Rangers and contractors in the first instance. Equivalent roles in other land management organisations as a wider market.

Has the Challenge Sponsor attempted to solve this problem before?

Some traditional deer stalking estates still use horses and a ”pony boy/girl”. This solution is not suitable for FLS.

Existing methods of mechanical aids such as ATVs which exist as wheeled and tracked versions. These vary in capability but ultimately all have limitations due to extreme ground terrain.

Mechanical winches are an option over very short distances but are not appropriate in remote locations where extraction distances are greater.

Are there any interdependencies or blockers?

Thoughtful use of communications and language is good practice for all Challenges, and advice on this can be obtained from the Challenge Sponsor.

Will a solution need to integrate with any existing systems / equipment?

This will depend on the nature of the proposed solutions, and can be discussed with the Challenge Sponsor.

Is this part of an existing service?

This work relates to existing and ongoing work and priorities within Forestry and Land Scotland.

Any technologies or features the Challenge Sponsor wishes to explore or avoid?

Drone based solutions could be difficult for two reasons. Firstly, Wildlife Rangers need to go to where deer are in the moment, so can’t pre-plan and submit a flight path, which would probably be necessary for loads of this size. The second reason is that drones are not very discrete. Drones flying deer carcasses across Scottish landscapes could be unpopular with local residents and tourists alike. (May not be so controversial in remote locations.)

What is the commercial opportunity beyond a CivTech contract?

We want to transport moderately heavy loads over difficult terrain quietly and discretely. The US military did a project about ten years ago with a major Robotics company where they tried to invent a robot that did the same job. If that robot project had worked we’d order a batch. The project was abandoned because the motor was too loud. The company released a follow up electric robot but it can only carry loads of <10kg. We also wish to avoid use of very loud motors during culling operations because it would scare away the deer, though our tolerances for stealth are considerably lower than military patrols. If someone could invent something similar as a solution to what we want then every military in the world would probably be interested.

(Depending on solution proposal type, the volume of motor noise may vary. If the proposal is to have a solution that accompanies the Wildlife Ranger during culling operations then yes, any motor noise would need to be extremely quiet. If the proposed solution is something that is readily available back at the Wildlife Ranger’s vehicle which can be summoned or utilised in a similar way to existing methods such as motorised ATV / winch etc. then a noise similar or less would be acceptable.)

A successful solution may be adaptable to aid Rescue services such as Mountain Rescue or Fire Service in the extraction of casualties from remote locations.

A successful solution may also be adaptable to assist with research or exploration projects out in to remote locations.

Who are the stakeholders?

Forestry and Land Scotland. Nature Scot have offered to provide operational help and support to the project in the form of site access and staff time as required to help ensure the success of the project.

Who’s in the Challenge Sponsor team?

Project Sponsor – Graeme Prest

SRO – Gareth Waters

Project Manager – Veronica Lyne-Pirkis

Senior User – Grant Carson

Consultant to the project – Josh Roberts

What is the policy background to the Challenge?

For full policy context please see the following:

Scottish Government's response to the Deer Working Group recommendations.