Government to look at game bird hunting laws

Many other European countries have more regulation of game bird hunting than Scotland, a report has found.

The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) study compares regulations on hunting game birds in 14 different European countries.

The Scottish Government now plans to look “very carefully” at the report to see if it can learn lessons on issues such as tackling wildlife crime and raptor persecution.

All 14 countries studied regulate game bird hunting through legislation and use a system of licensing of individual hunters, with the strictest form of the requirement making harvest quota and bag reporting a condition of the licence.

In many of the countries examined, hunters must pass a two-part practical and theoretical examination in order to qualify for a hunting licence.

All 14 countries are able to revoke hunting licences if the legislation is contravened and most also penalise serious breaches of hunting law.

In Scotland, game birds can be shot during their open season, which vary according to the species.

Other than the firearms legislation, which provides the necessary control for access to firearms, there is very little regulation associated with hunting game birds.