South Uist has resoundingly rejected killing off its deer population, voting 379 to 140 at an Extraordinary General Meeting last night.

In total, 522 votes were cast, with the proposal to eradicate the deer attracting 140 votes, 379 votes against it, and three spoilt papers.

Before the hours-long meeting and vote count, Stòras Uibhist reissued its plea to the community to reject the proposal.

The meeting was live-streamed on Facebook, but this was interrupted due to technical difficulties before being restored.

Among those making presentations to the well-attended meeting was local vet David Buckland who gave an overview of the relationship between deer, ticks, and Lyme disease. His presentation can be seen here.

Reaction online after the meeting was comparatively muted. However, some noted that of the 522 votes, 456 had been cast before the meeting, suggesting that most people had made their minds up quickly on the issue.