Last week the Scottish Parliament voted through the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, introducing new licensing schemes for grouse shooting, wildlife trapping and muirburn, the total banning of snares and the granting of additional investigatory powers for the Scottish SPCA.
I’ve already blogged about the reactions from REVIVE, OneKind and RSPB Scotland, contrasted with the reactions from the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, BASC and Scottish Land & Estates (here).
Here are a few more reactions and articles:
The Scottish Greens, whose Bute House Agreement with the SNP put this issue right at the top of the political agenda, reaction here.
The Scottish SPCA, reaction here.
Scottish Environment LINK, reaction here.
A scathing blog from the Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) criticising the Westminster Government for its inaction, here.
A blog by Dr Pat Thompson of RSPB England about what this new Scottish policy might mean for England, here.
And a feature article in The National at the weekend profiling some of the individuals involved in the Scottish campaign:
Raptor Persecution UK 
So pleased to see you, Ruth, recognised in The National for the work you have done in achieving this:-)
I don’t know where we’d be without you. Well, I do… not a happy place, that’s where:-(
“It shows that individuals like Ruth Tingay, armed with nothing but a laptop and determination, can change the way the country values wild animals in law”
Amen.
The passing of this bill is a great step forward and should in time make a long-awaited difference. There is lots to like in it but try as I might, and I have tried, although I’m no legal eagle, I can find nothing about what happens when an estate is found in breach of a licence suspension. I wonder this because that other bloodsport lot the foxhunters seem content, certainly in England to continue business as usual and I can’t conceive of the grousers shrugging their shoulders and giving up, ‘just like that’.
Where are the sanctions for contravening any licence withdrawal/suspension listed? Or does that come later?
Hi Bimbling,
Civil and criminal penalties are laid out in the Bill. The finer details will become clearer when the Codes of Practice have been finalised (i.e. we’ll know what constitutes a breach of the Code, leading to potential suspension or revocation of the relevant licence.
Okay thanks Ruth. I’ll go and have another rummage.
And while I’m on, can I reiterate Keith Dancey’s comment above. Clearly very many people have been at this for years, and many many have put in serious shifts of monitoring, research, evidence gathering, lobbying, letter writing, and all the rest to get to where we are now, but having this powerful public resource, and all the behind the scenes work is thanks to you.
It is only worth something if no licences are ever issued, licensing is open to abuse, makes it all look perfectly normal and we will end up with more grouse and mammal killing estates than ever.
That is a definite glass half empty comment. This is one of the biggest steps forward for years if not decades. Many people have worked incredibly hard to get things to this stage and although we all want to see an absolute end to the ridiculous “sport” that is shooting grouse, pheasant, woodcock etc and the environmental carnage that goes along with it, this is a huge step forward.
As an eternal optimist who has been humming “it’s been a long time coming” to myself for a couple of days now I do feel, and I can only really talk about Scotland here, that public knowledge on the supposed grouse moor management of killing and burning has increased to the extent that people are no longer willing to just accept that these things happen and you can’t really do anything about it?
Things can change, remember not wearing seat-belts, drink driving and smoking in pubs & restaurants, all things that nowadays seem abhorrent and ridiculous, were all the norm at one time. Hopefully soon blasting wee birds from the sky with shotguns, will join the list of things that some people once did but now are no longer tolerated by the vast majority of folk.
I agree, we need to make sure that licence abuse is not allowed to happen.
Slainte mhath
Hear hear, well said indeed.
Whilst some revel on the ‘crest of a wave” in Euphoria with the new Bill,I would temper these so called concerns for wildlife and nature, as a backward move.
Everone with knowledge knows,that the abundance of wildlife abounds on keepered moors,underpinned by private finance.
Due to No management,as proven in the past,equates to no wildlife other than vermin that serves no purpose for the good of all.
In short, You have shot yourselves in the foot.
due to management on grouse moors raptors are being persecuted, what is vermin in your eyes?? ,in my eyes there is no vermin only wildlife , but you see wildlife you don’t want as vermin!
Spot on Rob, these armchair experts will see the loss of the abundance of wildlife on our moors, they should be more concerned with the failures of the likes of the RSPB who spend many millions on failing the wildlife on their ground
“these armchair experts will see the loss of the abundance of wildlife on our moors”
Do you mean the abundance of raptors and other predators?
“they should be more concerned with the failures of the likes of the RSPB who spend many millions on failing the wildlife on their ground”
Where are your figures to support your (delusional) assertions?
are you Rob Smallman?, gamekeeper at the Cocking Shoot, if so i guess you would be slightly biased
“Everone with knowledge knows,that the abundance of wildlife abounds on keepered moors,underpinned by private finance.”
Pure lies.
You should know by now that your sham claims have been exposed to anybody and everybody by the Scottish Government.
“Due to No management,as proven in the past,equates to no wildlife other than vermin”
Ah, the tiered old ‘raptors and others predators are vermin’ argument from the shooting industry. Yet raptors are legally protected species.
“In short, You have shot yourselves in the foot.”
Do you mean that gamekeepers will try to take revenge by illegally killing even more raptors?
Hi Rob, which measures in the Bill concern you? Yes, the cost of keeping heather short will increase if mowing is to be used, and the cost of killing foxes will increase when snares are banned. But other than that I can’t see that any Estate that operates within the law will have any problems. I agree with Jim Fairlie’s closing speech, I think this should be embraced as a new period where the industry operates to high standards that are both defensible and are offering it a future. This could be the route to the genuine “sweet spot” that overlaps shooting interests and humane “bigger picture” wildlife management.
Well said most of you except you Rob vermin !!! the only vermin on this planet is man and man made so onwards and upwards.
Here here Karen!