GWCT News Blog

The results of the Scottish election next month could be highly influential regarding the impact on rural management for the next five years and beyond. 

Muirburn, which covers the controlled burning of heather, gorse bushes and grasslands, is a vital conservation and land management tool. 

The last few days has seen a worrying development at Auchnerran. We have been monitoring badger numbers on the farm over the years and noticed a steady increase in their abundance and have recorded the occasional raid on a wader nest. But over the last week or so we have lost approx. two-thirds of our early lapwing nests (around 20) to badger predation.

Check out the latest news from our GWCT Shoots.

Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to land management that leaves our wildlife and their habitats in a better state than before. This approach is at the heart of what we do at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT)

A £1m Scottish Country Sports Tourism Restart Fund has been created by VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, with development input from the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group (SCSTG) and BASC

If this remarkable species is given a new lease of life in Scotland, those responsible must be careful to ensure landowners and farmers do not lose out.

You may be very disappointed with the announcement after all the hard work which the GWCT has devoted to the 'Werritty Review', and multiple representations to policy makers. As the recently published GWCT blog on the issue states, we are deeply concerned that what is required is solutions, not another layer of bureaucracy.

When it came to finding solutions to wildlife conflict, Scotland has been a world leader – until now. It was home to the most ambitious largescale moorland raptor trials in the world. However, lessons learnt have not been developed and Scotland now plans to license grouse moors in the hope that this will somehow end the conflict between raptors and grouse shooting.