There are estimated to be over 350,000 red deer in Scotland.

Deer populations, when uncontrolled, have a massive impact on the landscape and ecosystem structures of the Highlands. As a result, deer are culled each year in an attempt to manage and maintain the landscape and ecosystem that they are a central part of.
This is a responsibility undertaken by the people of the highlands. Over the last thirty years, however, a debate has raged regarding the size, nature, and purpose of the deer cull.
The impact of this debate will change how people see, interact with and even inhabit the Scottish highlands – yet most of the population in the UK are unaware that deer culling even takes place.
The Cull explores the different approaches to deer management taken by land owners and managers in Scotland, and the reasons behind those differing approaches.
This film is about much more than Scotland’s largest land mammal. Deer management is a vehicle for us to discuss the topic of how we interact with our natural environment, and how ’wild land’ is managed and used in Scotland today.
Talking to people from all over Scotland and on all sides of the debate, we’ll present the issues as seen by real people on the ground, from crofters, gamekeepers, land managers, land owners, environmentalists, and rewilders—all fighting to use and protect the land in the way they see fit.