As many of you know, the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee is currently taking evidence from stakeholders as part of the Committee’s Stage 1 scrutiny of the Wildlife & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.
For new blog readers, this is the Bill that has been introduced by the Scottish Government in response to the recommendations made in the 2019 Werritty Review and is designed to bring in licensing for grouse moor management and introduce measures to put an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors.
The first evidence session took place on 31st May 2023 and the Committee heard from members of the Scottish Government Bill Team, led by senior civil servant Hugh Dignon.
The second evidence session took place on 14th June 2023 and the Committee heard from members of the Werritty Review Group as well as a range of stakeholders discussing traps & increased powers for the SSPCA. It was a fascinating session and I’ve quite a lot to say about it but I don’t intend to comment until later.
The third evidence session took place on 21st June and the Committee heard from a range of stakeholders discussing grouse moor licensing and muirburn. Another interesting session that I’ll comment on in due course.
You can watch the third evidence session on Scottish Parliament TV (archived video here) and you can read the transcript here:
The fourth and final evidence session takes place today, starting at 08.30hrs in the Fairfax Somerville Room at Holyrood. The Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, was originally scheduled to give evidence but she has now been replaced by the newly-appointed Environment Minister, Gillian Martin. Talk about a baptism of fire!
As Gillian is relatively new (she’s only been in post for a few weeks) and this is a highly specialised and politicised issue that’s been raging for years, it’s no surprise to see her supported in this session by three civil servants who know this issue inside out (they drafted the Bill and appeared before the Committee in the first evidence session in May).
You can watch live on Scottish Parliament TV (here) or watch the video archive shortly afterwards via the same website. The official transcript will be available several days after the meeting and I’ll post it on this blog when it comes out.
UPDATE: You can watch the fourth evidence session on Scottish Parliament TV (archived video here) and you can read the transcript here:
Raptor Persecution UK 
The visit to the shooting estate, and the ‘evidence’ adduced therefrom certainly seems to have influenced the thinking of some members of the committee.
We need more detail on exactly what took place: where it was, who was there and what was said and done.
There’s no point having some evidence sessions held in public and others in private.