NatureScot accused of “fobbing off” public after refusing record petition against guga hunt

Campaigners opposing the annual guga hunt say they were “fobbed off” after attempting to deliver what is believed to be the largest petition in the history of NatureScot ahead of its upcoming board meeting on Thursday.

Protect the Wild’s petition – now signed by more than 163,000 people – was brought to NatureScot headquarters by the now-infamous six-foot gannet that recently went viral during Scotland’s election coverage, alongside a giant cheque ‘signed’ by members of the public.

The gannet costume became widely recognised after Protect the Wild founder Rob Pownall wore it while standing as an independent candidate in Edinburgh Central to force the guga hunt into the political spotlight.

The guga hunt is the UK’s last remaining legal seabird hunt, in which young gannets are taken from the remote island of Sula Sgeir, killed, and sold as a traditional delicacy on the Isle of Lewis under licence from Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot.

Protect the Wild argues that continuing to license the hunt is incompatible with NatureScot’s duties to conserve biodiversity and act in the public interest.

Campaigners also say they were left disappointed after NatureScot declined to physically accept the giant cheque and instead instructed them to submit the petition via email.

Devon Docherty, Protect the Wild’s Scottish campaigns manager, said:

This is the largest petition NatureScot has ever received, and it deserved more than to be fobbed off with an email.

For a taxpayer-funded public body, refusing to physically accept such a significant expression of public concern is disappointing and does not reflect meaningful engagement with the public it exists to serve.

NatureScot is effectively ignoring the voices of hundreds of thousands of people who believe protecting wildlife should come before the vested interests of a tiny minority.

Protect the Wild says it’s urging the NatureScot board not to license this year’s guga hunt ahead of the board meeting on Thursday 14 May.

Featured image via Protect the Wild