Stewart Stevenson MSP is the newly appointed Environment Minister, replacing Roseanna Cunningham MSP. The newly re-elected MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast made the following comment about his new role:
“I am delighted to be part of the Rural Affairs team in the new Scottish Government. As an early priority we shall be working closely with UK Ministers in particular to ensure that Scottish interests are properly represented in the European Union. Where we have the powers, we shall seek to work with rural, marine and environmental stakeholders to ensure that we understand and respond to their needs and concerns. For me personally, this is a superb opportunity to work in Government on a range of issues in which I have personal interest. I look forward to working with First Minister Alex Salmond and Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead and the rest of our strong team.”
Stewart is no stranger to the raptor persecution issue. In 2003, he was part of a panel listening to a petition put forward by the SGA for licences to kill raptors (yes, here we go again). We have covered this discussion in the past, but we’re re-posting the minutes here because they’re so entertaining they’re worth a second read. Especially the parts where Bert Burnett and Alex Hogg of the SGA have their ‘evidence’ of the ‘raptor problem’ shredded in seconds. Stewart Stevenson MSP is active throughout the discussion, both with the SGA and later with representatives from SNH.
In due course, we look forward to hearing Stewart’s views on how this Scottish government intends to deal with the on-going criminal persecution of Scotland’s raptors, given that the measures introduced by previous governments are clearly no deterrent.
Raptor Persecution UK 