Tales from the Hill, Summer 2024

21 August 2024

Throughout summer, autumn and winter, our resident deer herd on the estate are managed in line with delivering an agreed population model. It is balanced to align with our core principles, government legislation, and in line with collaborative arrangements with our neighbours and fellow deer group members. At Kingairloch we strive to maintain a healthy herd, with the right age demographic, geographic distribution and population aligned with the carrying capacity of the natural environment. What this can mean in practice is that local population variances can be manipulated in line with our environmental objectives for that land parcel. Deer cull figures are assessed and adjusted annually in line with deer count and habitat impact assessment data, along with physical observations over the land.

In a recent and significant evolution, we have undertaken installation of a bespoke new deer larder and butchery facility on the estate. While we do strive to be ethical, provide guided access and educate others in the practices required to manage a natural environment, it is also important that we can bring a local and sustainable high-protein meat source to the local market. As such, our modern and centralised facility will shortly allow us to sell Kingairloch venison directly to our holiday cottage guests, offering a range of products including burgers, sausages, steaks and roasts. For more information on our range of sustainable produce, please monitor our website for details as they are confirmed.