In a landmark decision at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament has passed the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, introducing significant changes to the regulation of rural practices, particularly focusing on the grouse shooting industry and the protection of birds of prey. The bill was approved with a vote of 85 to 30, amid opposition from the Scottish Conservatives.
The newly ratified law establishes a licensing scheme for land used for grouse shooting, with traditional rural activities to continue under closer scrutiny.
Further stipulations within the bill include the prohibition of snares and glue traps. The legislation also tightens regulations around the use of other types of traps.
A significant aspect of the bill is the requirement for licenses for muirburn — the controlled burning of heather and other vegetation — throughout the year. This practice, pivotal for the management of grouse moors, will now be subjected to stricter regulations, aimed at minimizing its environmental impact and enhancing the protection of natural habitats.
The law expands investigative powers in cases of wildlife crime, potentially granting bodies such as the Scottish SPCA greater authority in these matters.
The passage of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill represents a significant shift in the legislative landscape concerning wildlife management and rural practices in Scotland. Those from the grouse shooting sector, express concerns over the potential impacts on traditional practices and rural livelihoods.
Ross Ewing, director of moorland at Scottish Land & Estates, commented: “Licensing of grouse shooting represents a seismic change for rural estates and their employees, including gamekeepers
and shepherds.
“The legislation goes far beyond the stated intention of deterring the persecution of raptors by introducing a broad range of relevant offences under which licences can be suspended or revoked. Many of these offences bear no connection to land managed for grouse shooting.
“The use of certain wildlife traps and muirburn – the rotational burning of heather – will also be subject to separate licensing regimes and, with peer-reviewed science demonstrating that these activities are delivering decisive benefits for biodiversity and nature, it is important that the licensing schemes are as light-touch as possible.
“As the Bill has made its way through parliament, the government has, to its credit, adopted several common-sense amendments after representations from Scottish Land & Estates and others. Extending the grouse licence duration from a year to up to five years, and removing the ability for NatureScot to suspend licences without proof of criminality, have given the legislation a greater chance of being workable in the long-term.
“Grouse management is funded completely privately, unlike other comparable land uses, and experts made clear during committee evidence sessions that there is no public interest in Scotland reducing its area of moorland managed for grouse such are the contributions it makes to combatting climate change and reversing biodiversity loss.
“Estates will engage constructively with the new licensing regime but it is also vital that the Scottish Government and its agencies adopt the same approach going forward and recognise the huge social, economic and environmental contribution that grouse moor management makes
to Scotland.”
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, says that the bill’s progression was all but certain given the current political climate, with the SNP/Green coalition
in power.
Despite the legislation’s intention to regulate aspects of rural life that have coexisted with nature for centuries, many view it as “unnecessary, unjustified, and way out of step with the priorities of rural communities.”
www.scottishlandandestates.co.uk