‘Dismay’ at licences imposed on grouse moors

Strict new rules on wildlife protection will devastate rural firms already under strain, landowners warn

SCOTTISH gamekeepers have complained that rural life is facing an endless battering after it emerged that a licensing regime is to be imposed on grouse shooting businesses. Firms warned that the move, announced by SNP ministers yesterday, risked devastating rural economies, after they were warned that those that fail to follow wildlife protection rules will face being shut down.

The Scottish Government has claimed the new rules are necessary to protect rare raptors, with ministers saying they could not ignore several cases of birds of prey either dying or going missing in suspicious circumstances over grouse moors.

However, representatives of rural businesses said the changes, announced at Holyrood yesterday, were completely disproportionate and meant l awabiding, responsible estates would be engulfed in a “blizzard of red tape”.

The activities of shooting estates have become an increasingly divisive issue in Scotland and landowners warned that the restrictions would “play into the hands” of campaigners who want a total ban on shooting for sport.

A major report in 2018 included a suggestion of a licensing regime for shooting estates, but proposed a fiveyear probationary period, to assess whether businesses could first improve practices themselves. However, Mairi

Gougeon, the SNP’S rural affairs minister, rejected the timetable and said a licensing scheme would start to be developed now.

Alex Hogg, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman, said those who campaigned for licensing “have no interest in seeing it being a success” and instead want to use it “to agitate for a full ban”. He added: “I am angry beyond expression at the way a community of working people is being treated in this country and the strain they and their families are constantly having to face as they cope with never-ending scrutiny and inquiry, driven by elite charities with big influence over politicians and axes to grind against a people who produce so much for Scotland yet ask little back.”

A recent opinion poll commissioned by animal rights campaigners found that 71 per cent of the Scottish public opposed grouse shooting, with just 12 per cent in favour. However, advocates of the sport say it is misunderstood, bringing significant economic benefits to otherwise deprived parts of the country, while sustaining swathes of moorland.

Ms Gougeon also said that muirburn, the process of using controlled fire on heather moorland, will only be permitted under licence regardless of the time of year. There will also be a statutory ban on burning on peatland, except under licence for strictly limited purposes.

In a joint statement, five groups representing landowners and shooting estates, including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Scottish Countryside Alliance, expressed “dismay” at the changes and said grouse shooting businesses had already embraced a “huge amount” of legislation, regulation and guidance.