Scottish Government Bill Team give evidence to RAINE Committee on Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill

The Scottish Government Bill Team gave evidence to the RAINE Committee at the first of four sessions taking place in June for the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill. Here's a summary of the key points:

• Consideration has been given to granting additional specific powers to the SSPCA, and this is likely to be in the form of a draft amendment.
• Tampering with legal traps: New legislation is being introduced for the taking of grouse as a deterrent to certain crimes, such as raptor persecution, yet the Scottish Government is being evasive about introducing legislation as a deterrent for those who continue to disrupt a legal activity, such as trapping, and offer an offence of malicious mischief as a way of dealing with the tampering of legally set traps.
• There was much discussion regarding humane cable restraints as an alternative to snares. The Scottish Government will put forward their position on HCR during Stage 1 and it will likely be an amendment in some form at Stage 2.
• The taking of any grouse will be caught up in this legislation, including unmanaged moors that conduct highly sustainable walked-up shooting activities.
• An appeal application can be made to the Sherriff court in relation to a suspension or revocation of a licence, initiating a lengthy legal process, which will no doubt end the season for that licence holder.
• Upon the initiation of a police investigation, there needs to be a causal connection between certain wildlife crimes and the owner of the licence or land where the offence is suspected before a licence can be suspended or revoked by NatureScot.
• There are still many questions needing to be answered with regards to muirburn, including the licensing of mixed areas of land containing peatland, the methodology for surveying this land before the granting of a licence and the precautionary rather than scientific approach to determining the figure of 40cm peat depth. 

Director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance, Jake Swindells, responded to this evidence session, saying:

“We have already dissected the evidence given by the Scottish Government’s Bill Team in the first RAINE committee session, and have identified a number of concerns that we will be writing to the committee about. Whilst it is clear that licensing is unnecessary, we welcome the light-touch approach for the granting of a licence to take grouse and hope to work with the Bill Team and The Scottish Government to address areas which still remain a concern”.