Enabling conditions for community hunting to deliver sustainable wild ungulate management in highland Scotland

Abstract Sustainable management of wild ungulate populations is key to maintaining ecosystem health. High ungulate densities across Europe pose growing ecological, social, and economic challenges, particularly where natural predators are absent. In highland Scotland, red deer (Cervus elaphus) have long been managed under a landowner-led system with limited community involvement and low regulatory oversight. As Scotland seeks to deliver sustainable land management, there is increasing momentum to reduce deer impacts and enhance community participation in land and wildlife management. We explore the potential for community hunting to contribute to sustainable deer management in highland Scotland. We compare Scotland with Slovenia, a largely highland country where community-based hunting is strongly embedded culturally and in law. Reviewing literature and expert local knowledge in both countries, we use the ‘social habitat for hunting’ concept to examine macro-, meso-, micro-, and individual-level factors that shape hunting participation. Significant structural, cultural, and institutional barriers to community hunting exist in Scotland, including weak social norms and cultural legitimacy, proprietary shooting rights, weak regulatory mechanisms, and low access to and uptake of training. In contrast, Slovenia’s hunting model illustrates how integrated governance, community empowerment, and intergenerational knowledge transfer maintains sustainable community-based hunting practices. Community hunting could help to deliver sustainable deer management in highland Scotland through building a supportive social habitat.