Scotland's gamekeepers have hit back at scientists at an English university who claim half of the UK's deer population needs to be shot every year to prevent environmental damage.

The researchers estimate there are about 1.5 million deer in the UK, more than any time since the ice age.

But the Scottish Gamekeepers Association challenged the relevance to Scotland of the work by University of East Anglia (UEA), saying to shoot around 750,000 a year would spell disaster for many rural communities. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) also says it is not applicable here.

UEA researchers looked at roe and muntjac deer across 60,000 acres of forest and heathland in Breckland, on the Norfolk and Suffolk border.

There are no wild herds of muntjac deer in Scotland, and SNH advice to land managers is to shoot any coming over the Border.

Dr Kristin Waber, who conducted the study, said deer numbers were continuing to expand, causing a serious threat to bio-diversity, as well as traffic accidents and crop damage.

But Scottish Gamekeepers Association Chairman Alex Hogg said: "This study misses the point about deer distribution in Scotland entirely and applying it would be disastrous for many rural communities."