Many of you will know that Professor Colin Galbraith was appointed Chair of NatureScot’s Board last year (see here); a four year appointment until June 2027.
Professor Galbraith was invited to speak at the Scottish Gamekeepers Association’s (SGA) recent AGM (1 March 2024) and I was curious about what he said to them. This is pertinent to another issue that I’ll come on to in another blog.
I submitted an FoI to NatureScot asking for, amongst other things, a copy of Professor Galbraith’s presentation to the SGA.
Here’s part of the response I received from NatureScot:
Here is a copy of the bullet points provided to Professor Galbraith by NatureScot staff for his speech at the SGA’s AGM:
I’ll return to the relationship between NatureScot and the SGA soon…
Raptor Persecution UK 
sounds fairly reasonable and diplomatic, no doubt the SGA will have objected to it, particularly the “Change is inevitable” quote.
“sounds fairly reasonable and diplomatic”Really?
To be honest I expected more – something with a bit more bite – reading the ‘bullet points’ indicates his current position and that of NatureScot.
Disappointed but not surprised – neither NatureScot or Natural England want to lay the law down to the gamekeepers and I wonder if this mandate comes from the respected Governments.
Well done to Raptor Persecution for telling the country all about this
My very best regards
David
Sent from Outlook for Androidhttps://aka.ms/AAb9ysg ________________________________
I think you probably mean “respective”? I don’t think either government is “respected”, particularly not the English one anyway – admitting the Scottish government has taken several huge steps forward in recent times after years of inertia
“Where nature is benefitting through good gamekeeping” – nowhere then! It just sounds like business as usual with a few tweaks. Where’s the radical vision on reversing biodiversity loss that Scotland needs, culling more deer, regenerating native woodland and reintroducing species? Sounds like he was more trying to avoid stepping on toes rather than outlining a vision of a more nature friendly Scotland. Nuance and hints aren’t enough these days, people including gamekeepers need to be inspired if they are to start travelling in the right direction with natural ecosystems at the heart of their work
Pathetic.
Blowing smoke up the SGA’s arses, is how it appears to me. Nothing there about the regeneration of a severely depleted environment. But then, regenerating a severely depleted environment is NOT any part of NatureScot’s published ‘Mission’ statement, it all about ‘managing natural resources sustainably’.
You could argue that means nothing more ambitious than maintaining artificially low numbers of raptors and other predators (you have to look a bit deeper to find a nod to ‘improving our natural heritage’).
“For NatureScot, we seek a renewed partnership, driven by a commitment to… food production”
But he forgot to add: ”with lead ammunition”.
Hang on a minute … “Conservation and nature recovery needs the specific wildlife management skills you have.”
What “specific” skills are these? We’re talking game keepers here … that is people trained to keep game – people trained to control game predators. What “specific” “conservation and nature recovery” skills are they talking about?
Well said all of you Nature Scot and natural England need to grow a pair. Usual hot air .
With impending climate change disaster and a crisis in nature right before our eyes, I would love to see the implementation of immediate radical changes, but I also realise that entrenched human attitudes and behaviour frequently prevent what should be obvious changes from happening.
It seems to me that Prof Galbraith has managed to negotiate a difficult path and deliver a message of change to SGA without hopefully antagonising his audience ? Aside from raptor persecution, which should cease immediately as it is criminal offence. I think it would be completely pointless to speak to the SGA in a way which simply makes them hostile to what is being said, especially when their compliance to the changes in land management practices will be required if the large areas of the countryside managed for shooting are going to have any chance of recovery.
If Prof Galbraith had upset his audience from the outset, how was NatureScot going to take them forward on this journey to hopefully improve the natural environment? Especially when so many of the SGA members are the ones carrying out the day to day work on the land?
Similar issues exist in farming, and changing how an industry has operated for many years is never easy. This often requires a step by step process, and creating barriers and hostility to change at the very outset is a sure way of preventing the changes from happening. So whilst I want to see immediate changes, I also understand that the process of change isn’t quite that simple.
Oh dear! Describing new landowners as the ‘new kids on the block… that need to learn from gamekeepers’. Perhaps the new landowners do not want to be gamekeepers?