Final stage of Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill in Scottish Parliament today

It’s a big day today.

The final stage (stage 3) of the Scottish Government’s Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill begins in the main debating chamber at Holyrood in Edinburgh just after 2pm.

For new readers, this is proposed new legislation to regulate grouse shooting and its associated management practices by way of licensing schemes, introduced because of the continued illegal persecution of birds of prey on many Scottish grouse moors.

A really good briefing document is available that explains what has happened to the Bill as it has progressed through Parliamentary scrutiny so far. It’s recommended reading for those who want to understand the Bill in more depth:

At the moment there’s much uncertainty about whether stage 3 will be completed today (as had been expected) or whether it will continue through to Thursday.

A lot of amendments have been lodged for Stage 3 and where typically only some would be selected by the Presiding Officer for stage 3 debate, there are rumours that ALL the amendments will be heard! My guess, and it is only a guess, is that this may well be to fend off any future legal action whereby certain organisations may claim that their amendments weren’t selected and it was all very unfair, prejudiced, a breach of their human rights etc etc. I’m sure you can imagine.

A Parliamentary motion will be heard just prior to the start to the debate this afternoon, as follows:

I think, given the length of the suggested time limits, this gives some indication that the rumours about all amendments being heard are probably accurate. It’s also indicative that proceedings will probably not conclude today (or if they do it’ll be really late into the evening) and may need to be carried forward to another day.

For those interested in the amendment timings/groupings, here is a useful summary:

I’m afraid much of the uncertainty will continue until Stage 3 proceedings begin this afternoon. You can watch live on Scottish Parliament TV (session starts at 2pm in the debating chamber) – watch here.

More later.