Durrell Trust finally ends blood sports tourism on its Scottish estate

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT) has finally bowed to pressure from its supporters and ended pay-to-shoot deer stalking on the Dalnacardoch Estate in Scotland’s Cairngorms where the Trust runs a rewilding project.

DWCT is a well-known Jersey-based conservation charity, founded by the popular late British author and naturalist Gerald Durrell. It has been involved in the project at the estate since 2023. The Trust attracted controversy last year after ex-Durrell director Paul Masterton made a scathing public statement about DWCT’s support for “trophy hunting and blood sport” where “people pay a licence fee where they stalk and kill animals” was a sign that the Trust had travelled “far from its roots and its values”.

The charity’s trustees have spent the last year trying to ignore concerns from their supporters about deer stalking at Dalnacardoch. In September, the Trust refused to discuss a motion brought to their AGM calling for an end to the practice.

DWCT initially doubled down on its support for paid deer shooting at its estate, then said it would stop the practice in 2026 and - after sustained pressure - brought this date forward to 23 October. That date has now passed, and we can safely celebrate the last paid trophy hunting trip at Dalnacardoch.

‘Sustained pressure from animal rights activists’

The Trust’s decision made mainstream media headlines and attracted attention in the hunting press too. A recent article in the Shooting Times & Country Magazine said that the Durrell Trust’s decision was a result of “sustained pressure from animal rights activists who object to what they dismiss as trophy hunting”.

Protect the Wild are proud that we have been able to amplify the voices of campaigners in waging this successful campaign against blood sports on the Dalnacardoch Estate.

We need ‘genuine compassionate rewilding’

The end of pay-to-shoot at Dalnacardoch is cause for celebration. However, Protect the Wild’s Rob Pownall commented that culling Dalnacardoch’s deer population is no better:

“It’s good to see the Durrell Trust finally end its support for pay-to-shoot deer stalking, a cruel practice that should have no place in modern conservation. But killing deer in the name of ‘management’ is no better. Whether it’s wealthy tourists paying to pull the trigger or culling justified as habitat restoration, the outcome for the animals is the same. Protect the Wild will continue to call for genuine, compassionate rewilding that values life over killing”

Landowners in Scotland are legally obliged to carry out a deer cull and DWCT are saying that this will now be carried out by paid and trained staff.

One former Trust employee, Joya Ghose, recently told media that the charity should consider other options. These could include the reintroduction of apex predators which have become extinct in Scotland such as wolves and lynx. Ghose also suggested exploring contraception options for deer at Dalnacardoch as an alternative to culling.

We are glad to see the end of the barbaric pay-to shoot practices at Dalnacardoch. However, at Protect the Wild, we oppose all cruel measures like culling deer too. If charities like the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust want to consider themselves worthy of the name ‘conservationists’ then we urge them to listen to their supporters and introduce humane alternatives as a matter of urgency.

• Read more about Deer and the Law on our Protectors of the Wild page here.

• Read our original article calling out Durrell Trust’s shameful support for deer stalking.

• Durrell Trust are uniquely placed to advocate the reintroduction of predators at Dalnacardoch as an alternative to the cull which is being required by the Scottish government to manage deer numbers. Read more here.

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