Red deer released onto Surrey heathland to restore ecosystems

NEW RECRUITS: The deer enjoy their new home on military land at Pirbright

Home to nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers

December 2010: Deer that had became locally extinct more than 200 years ago have been successfully reintroduced to Surrey's Pirbright heathland.

The award-winning scheme, led by Defence Estates, Natural England and Surrey Wildlife Trust, is a pioneering, landscape-scale, conservation project where red deer are being introduced to protect the vitally important heathland habitat at the MOD's Pirbright Ranges, near West End Village.

Now the gates between the holding paddocks, where the deer have been during the summer, have been opened - allowing the deer to wander out into their 740ha new home.

Military training base and conservation hotspot

As well as being an extremely busy and important military training facility, this beautiful area is an extremely valuable wildlife habitat. It is protected at a European level as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for its ground-nesting heathland birds, as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for its wetland areas and within the UK as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Populations of nightjar, woodlark and Dartford warbler breed within the ranges; the area attracts spectacular visiting species such as the great grey shrike and merlin and UK Biodiversity Action Plan species such as marsh clubmoss and marsh fern thrive there.

However, invasive scrub and coarse grasses are overwhelming the rarer heathland species. Usually these are cleared with machines, burning and domestic livestock, but, due to the military history of the area, none of these are permitted. This has led to a cycle of vegetation growing up before fuelling fire which sweeps across the area. The fire brigade is not allowed to enter the area so the fire burns unchecked for days, causing pressure on the emergency services, fear from surrounding homeowners and disruption to military and civilian training at Pirbright Camp; it can be disastrous for wildlife as many species are unable to escape the flames.

Deer will protect threatened habitat

Since 2006 a group of partner organisations has been working to find a solution to the long-term management of the area. A comprehensive review of potential grazing animals was undertaken by Natural England, the RSPCA, British Deer Society (BDS), the Deer Initiative, Forest Research, Defence Estates and SWT. The group selected red deer, which are naturally equipped for thriving on a diet of scrub and coarse grasses, to protect the threatened habitat.

The Red deer have been introduced onto the Pirbright Ranges to control invasive scrub and coarse grasses. Photo credit Antony Archer. See more of Antony Archers photos.

A full risk assessment has been undertaken to cover all aspects of deer welfare. Recognised experts, including a specialist deer vet, have contributed to the project and are on hand to offer advice as the scheme develops. Deer management will be undertaken by qualified members of Defence Deer Management (DDM, the Services branch of the BDS). Several of the deer wear GPS/radio tracking collars to monitor their use the area and guide understanding of behaviour.

Col Roger Owen, Defence Training Estate Home Counties Deputy Commander, said: ‘Supporting our Armed Forces is the top priority for Defence Estates. This project allows internationally important heathland to be safeguarded and enhanced, while still enabling troops to continue preparing for overseas operations at Pirbright.

Incredibly moving to see the deer walk across this stunning landscape

‘Releasing the deer marks a milestone in the project's ongoing success and demonstrates that seemingly insurmountable problems can be overcome when people work together in close partnership.'

James Adler, SWT grazing manager, said: ‘We are delighted to finally be letting the deer onto the fantastic area Defence Estates, Natural England and SWT have created for them. It has taken an enormous amount of work to get to this stage but to see the first red deer for 200 years walking across this stunning landscape is incredibly moving.

‘We are proud to have a sustainable conservation system up and running to safeguard the future of this unsurpassed southern wilderness and its wildlife.'

Carole Mortimer, Natural England's conservation adviser for the site said: ‘This deer release marks the culmination of a project which has taken commitment and perseverance over several years. We can now finally see these charismatic animals out on the heathland. Ongoing monitoring and research over the next few years will enable us to check that the deer are effective and give us reassurance that this unique site will be protected and its condition enhanced.'

The project recently won the Ministry of Defence's Environmental Project category in this year's Sanctuary Awards for its innovative work in improving the SSSI, which forms part of the Thames Basin Heaths, as well as the excellent partnership working of the team.