Blogs

Following the success of the guided walks over different grouse moors in early April, we were very pleased to organise a similar visit for Scottish Government Wildlife Management and Natural Environment Bill team members. Taking place on Burncastle Moor near Lauder in the Scottish Borders, it was a useful opportunity to discuss upland management, assess practicalities, and exchange thoughts on current legislative requirements.

With the manifestoes from the leading parties taking part in the Scottish Parliament election now available, we’ve summarised the key rural discussion points emerging from the documents.

This year’s Game Shooting Conference was, for the first time in six years, held in association with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and kindly hosted by Holland & Holland shooting ground. The event was attended by almost 100 individuals representing porting agents, cartridge manufacturers, countryside organisations, shoot managers and gamekeepers from across the UK.

Yesterday marks a year since the announcement of the consultation on extending the area covered by the heather and grass burning regulations.

Defra has launched a consultation on its proposals to amend the list of birds that can be legally shot outside of a closed season. The proposals include extending the closed season for woodcock and snipe in England and Scotland and removing snipe from the quarry list in Wales.

The government has used the publication of the latest iteration of the Land Use Framework report to announce it is exploring “wider measures such as licensing and any associated conditions for recreational gamebird shooting and release”.

Following Deputy First Minister & Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca‑Davies MS’ announcement of an independent review of the impacts of released gamebird management, the GWCT welcomes Welsh Government’s commitment to consider both scientific and practitioner evidence.

Joe Stanley was in the auditorium on 24 February for Secretary of State Emma Reynolds’ address to the National Farmers Union’s annual conference in Birmingham.

Many of us will not be direct custodians of the land but we have an empathy with the rhythms and cycles of the rural way of life, having lived and worked within it. Given this, it is with great sadness that I feel the rural way of life is at risk from the urban-centric focus of our national and international policies.

With nearly 70% of Scotland’s land used for agriculture, farmers will play a key role in addressing the biodiversity and climate crises. In order to document what habitats are present and their condition, NatureScot has been developing tools to help farmers to quantify their habitats and how they are performing.