The purpose of this certificate is to demonstrate that anyone who is responsible for making decisions about deer management are sufficiently informed about all aspects of the deer themselves, the wider countryside, the land-use systems in which they operate, and the practicalities of achieving the required objectives of any deer management plan.

As such, it is aimed both at those who are directly responsible for the management of deer populations and equally those whose focus may be other aspects of land management but who need to oversee deer management to ensure their prime objectives are achieved.

It is therefore recognised that these two different target audiences will require some initial underpinning knowledge to ensure that they can make full use of the information and guidance provided as a part of this course. As such, there is no prerequisite qualification required to undertake this Certificate, but those coming from a land management background will need to ensure that they are familiar with the basic ecology of the six species of deer found in the UK.

Similarly, those coming from a deer stalking background will probably already hold DSC1 and DSC2 but will need to ensure that they are familiar with a range of land uses, including native woodland and the main agricultural and forestry crops grown in the UK.

Learning outcomes:

There are three main learning outcomes to this certificate, by gaining the qualification the holders will:

1 Understand the ecology and dynamics of deer populations.

2 Understand how deer can affect different land use objectives.

3 Create a practical and relevant deer management plan.