Part of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, which requires that the shooting of all red grouse will require a licence, is set to be in place for the opening of the grouse-shooting season on the Inglorious 12th August 2024.
For new readers, this Act was introduced as the Scottish Government’s response to the continued widespread illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors. It will work on the basis that all red grouse shooting must now be licensed in Scotland and if, on the civil burden of proof (i.e. the balance of probability) sufficient evidence is found that the licence has been breached (including evidence of illegal raptor persecution), the licence can be withdrawn as a sanction, preventing the shooting of red grouse on a particular estate for a given period.
The Act achieved royal assent on 30th April 2024 (see here) and we’ve been waiting for a formal commencement date (i.e. when the Act becomes legally enforceable).
The legislation required for commencement has now been published and confirms the widely anticipated expectation that the grouse shooting licence would be ready for the start of this year’s season (complete with the associated Grouse Moor Code of Practice) and that the Muirburn licence won’t be ready until at least next year.
The commencement legislation in the form of a statutory instrument can be read here (and is reproduced below). It’s a necessarily turgid piece of technical legalese but the most important information is the commencement date, and that all looks on track.
Grouse moor owners will shortly be applying to NatureScot for their 16AA licences, which ties them to comply with the associated and soon-to-be-completed Grouse Moor Code of Practice. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for an estate to breach the terms of its licence and how any subsequent enforcement and sanction is handled.
Here’s the statutory instrument announcing the commencement dates:
Raptor Persecution UK 
I don’t suppose the act makes it compulsory to know who the owners are?
Knowing who the owners are is only one part of it I would say. I predict a lot of craftiness from the Agents and sporting tenants – potentially carving up their larger holdings and putting them (on paper anyway) into smaller management companies, to give the appearance that one part of an estate which takes the risks of getting caught breaking the rules isn’t legally connected to other (perhaps the more productive in grouse numbers) parts of the Estate. Interesting times ahead.
Interesting is one name for these morons whose only interest is self enrichment (they will never have enough) but somre hope of putting a stop to the destruction of all things wild is now in place ! Will it work? I dont think so……… these money mad buggers who seem to have the backing of the wealthy gun toting minority always seem to find a way to continue to destroy everything natural as they always have for “fun”.What a bore it must be to have everything.
your replies, full of class bitterness, shows exactly the type of people you are.
As does your’s.
Whatever your personal concept of “class” might be, so far, not one of the comments on this thread make any refence to it. It’s really just all in your head, isn’t it?
Class has different interpretations, I don’t think people who encourage others to break the law for their benefit have any class, great to see more being done, would love to see it proposed that any UK tax payers money paid out in benefits should only go to companies registered in the UK