Farmers want paid if species are returned
SCOTTISH farmers have demanded compensation if any more species are reintroduced to the countryside.
They also want a shift in ‘mind set’ to recognise that animals such as beavers and white-tailed sea eagles are not endangered and that one species should not be given protection at the expense of all others.
Farmers have previously complained that sea eagles, which were brought back to Scotland 40 years ago, have killed large numbers of lambs. In 2008, farmers on the Gairloch Peninsula in Ross-shire claimed 200 were taken in a single season.
Now the Scottish Government is considering reintroducing beavers following a £2million trial at Knapdale in Argyll – and there are increasing calls by conservationists to bring back lynx, wolves and bears.
Now the National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland has written to the EC to make the case for a ‘different mind-set’ in EU nature legislation. Among its proposals are that such legislation should require member states to set aside sufficient funds to pay farmers any income lost and additional costs associated with keeping designated sites in Favourable Conservation Status or hosting protected species.
NFU Scotland said that as several of the most ‘contentious’ species, such as sea eagles and beavers, are assessed as being of ‘least concern’, the list of species given protection must be accurate and reflect the situation in different parts of the EU.
NFU Scotland deputy director of policy Andrew Bauer said: ‘Some have chosen to misrepresent criticism of current EU nature legislation as an attack on nature. Quite the opposite is true. NFU Scotland and others have argued that farmers and crofters want to do more for nature, but are held back by insufficient funds and rigid rules.
‘Rules that protect one species at the expense of all others are neither sensible nor sustainable. We need reforms that will allow us to move away from a protectionist mindset towards one focused on building a rich, healthy environment in balance with farming, crofting and other land uses.’