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1. Wildlife make an important contribution to the rural economy; generating jobs, income and profits from food and sporting enterprises, and contributing in less direct ways by bringing pleasure from viewing and learning. This paper reviews the literature regarding the contribution made by wildlife to the rural economy and to British society more widely. The review focuses on UK studies published in peer-reviewed journals and official web-based sources in the last 20 years. 2. Traditional activities such as deer stalking remain an important source of wealth and employment, but their overall contribution is declining relative to non-consumptive uses such as wildlife tourism. 3. Much of the literature focuses on the negative impacts of mammals on commercial activities such as agriculture and forestry, even though these impacts are relatively insignificant in economic terms at both regional and national levels. 4. Wild meat provides a niche in the contemporary food market, but, although demand is growing, growth is handicapped by a fragmented supply chain and lack of marketing. 5. In comparison with other rural resources such as farming, the contribution made by wild mammals to the rural economy appears small, even in relatively remote regions, but this may partly reflect gaps in the literature regarding their contribution via less formal markets, hobby activities, and in supporting ecosystem equilibrium.

Wild game management for hunting in Western society has become increasingly complex as stakeholders have multiplied and as 'sustainability' influences the contemporary debate. This paper questions whether the current legal framework for game management, which has evolved from early European civilisations to focus on 'hunting rights', is relevant to regulate the contemporary environmental, social and economic dimensions of wild game and their management. Employing a narrative analysis to focus on deer, the study identifies key legislative tenets and highlights the pertinence of historical laws to contemporary conflicts. The analysis suggests that current legislation is increasingly divergent from contemporary trends and has created inertia with respect to sustainable deer management. The paper offers four options to redress this: state intervention; voluntary collaboration; financial incentives; and establishing a legal responsibility for management. It is concluded that significant innovation is required in one or more of these four areas to facilitate the contemporary sustainable management of wild deer in Britain.sustainable deer management, law, historical narrative, contemporary conflict, hunting rights, responsibility,

Market-based economic incentives are increasingly perceived as a cost-effective approach to biodiversity conservation but empirical evidence to substantiate this claim is lacking. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis this paper investigates the potential role of market incentives to increase venison production as a mechanism to resolve conflicts over wild red deer management in the Scottish Highlands. Our analysis suggests the approach is unlikely to be effective because investments in venison production would bring conflict with more important non-pecuniary objectives of landownership such as 'sporting quality' and 'exclusivity'. At a broader level we urge caution when considering the deployment of economic instruments to resolve contemporary conservation conflicts where profit maximisation is not the dominant objective and/or where the target group is extremely wealthy.