Muirburn knowledge

Sir, A revised Muirburn Code was launched on Friday September 22, aimed at providing upto-date guidance for the people who manage Scotland’s moorlands.

The review was commissioned by the Scottish Government, and the work was undertaken by Scotland’s Moorland Forum, made up of stakeholders from across all areas of land management.

There are elements of the updated code which are undoubtedly an improvement.

However, we are disappointed that additions to the document – not discussed by the Moorland Forum partners or working group – were introduced late on, turning what was planned to be a practitioners’ guide more into a list of what people should and should not do.

We have heard similar views from other stakeholders who genuinely saw this as an opportunity to get everyone who practices Muirburn as an important management tool to do so to an agreed high standard.

If work on the supplementary material takes greater account of the working knowledge of those who actually practice Muirburn, it may stand a better chance of getting the buy-in it seeks but we cannot be assured this will be the case.

We hope that there will be continuing support from the Scottish Government to continue the work that has been started.

On behalf of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association