WE HAVE TOUGH LAWS ALREADY

THE most remarkable thing about the SNP’s proposal to license grouse shooting is the timing of it.

It is only a couple of weeks since Roseanna Cunningham announced that an expert group has been established to conduct an independent review.

Its is expected to run well into next year, after which the Government will form a view on the best way forward.

The SNP member who proposed the motion said she hoped ministers would listen to party activists and ‘introduce tough new policies’.

It surely cannot have escaped this delegate that the Scottish Government has already introduced extremely tough legislation and updated previous laws and penalties. In broad terms, it is illegal to kill raptors and if a gamekeeper or land manager does so, they face criminal charges.

In addition, if their employer is found to be complicit in a crime, or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it, they can face criminal charges under vicarious liability provisions.

Furthermore, there is a general scheme, overseen by Scottish Natural Heritage, to prohibit general licences where they have reason to believe wild birds have been taken or killed. Other countries that have introduced broader licensing schemes are still having to deal with wildlife crime.

Against this backdrop, the Government’s own statistics show a drop in incidents of raptor persecution.

Despite it, those who advocate further restrictions or even banning grouse shooting claim that it is endemic.

No one is saying it does not exist and no right-minded person condones wildlife crime. Those who engage in it should feel the force of the law. Unfortunately, there is a lack of balance and this results in adversarial and polarised debate.

There is a way forward where those seeking to protect birds of prey can align with the shooting community.

It’s called working together and this does deliver results.