I hope this cartoon by Mr Carbo is unnecessarily pessimistic.
It remains to be seen whether the SNP government is prepared to act on wildlife crime and unsustainable moorland management. They have acted on Mountain Hares but if they thought that was enough then they have not read the mood of the Scottish electorate nor of non-Scottish-domiciled tourists. Nor yet, the weak Werritty report.
However, I’m not sure that castigating those same ministers for not closing the hare-killing season on 1 August this year is that helpful in persuading them to do more. Yes, it would be better if they had, but a couple of months ago there wasn’t much prospect of the increased legal protection coming in at all. Better that it comes in gradually than it doesn’t come in at all. Or am I getting too reasonable in my old age?
We should continue to bombard Nicola Sturgeon and Roseanna Cunningham with more pleas along the lines of ‘What are you going to do about crimes like this poisoned eagle?’.
If you are maddened or saddened by the level of wildlife crime in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park then please write to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon ([email protected]) and copy in Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham ([email protected]). And please do it today.
And here are a very few more exampes of emails that have been sent:
Dear First Minister,
It is so sad in this day and age that a small minority of people are still intent on persecuting our beautiful wildlife. Raptors such as sea eagles, buzzards and red kite poisoned needlessly. These raptors are what makes Scotland special. Not the thousands of acres of bare, burnt grouse moor which simply exists as a playground for a wealthy minority. But the sight of a magnificent bird of prey wheeling over forests, rivers and lochs. This is why Scotland is special and why people visit. To see wild, wildlife rich habitats. Not burnt grouse moors and poisoned corpses. Please do everything in your power to ban driven grouse shooting once and for all and save these magnificent birds from persecution. What a way to be remembered!
Yours sincerely and hopefully
Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary, My sister and I were deeply saddened to learn of the illegal killing of the White Tailed Eagle. As you know, this is one of Scotland’s most iconic birds of prey, to whom millions flock to see each year (we two included) from all around the globe – an invaluable tourist attraction which greatly benefits the Scottish economy. We are not conservationists or even expert birders, just law abiding citizens who simply care. Learning of this horrific crime has left us feeling very sad, angry and deflated and we cannot help but feel somewhat dubious of how such killings continue without serious consequences for those carrying out the crimes. As far as we are aware, not one individual has ever been brought to justice over the killing of an eagle in Scotland. Frankly, this ‘turning a blind eye’ attitude by those in power in Scotland is in our eyes, simply to appease a contingent of criminals. We urge you to no longer ignore this and stand up to those that are blatantly flouting the law. Yourself and your representatives are being taken for fools. We are desperately trying to help protect the natural world – whether that be locally in London or that under Scottish skies. We both have sleepless nights over these abhorrent acts and the fact that your government is not taking this seriously is immensely worrisome and frustrating. This is illegal. Surely that speaks for itself. Come on Mrs Sturgeon, please do the right thing and act now. Yours sincerely
Dear First Minister & Cabinet Secretary I am not a resident of Scotland but have been a visitor to the wonderful highlands. I had hoped to visit again. I am prompted to write by the recent poisoning of a young White-tailed Eagle found in the Cairngorms National Park. I feel sure you will be aware of this incident and the anger that it has sparked, people are in my opinion justifiably incensed and, as the ‘inglorious’ 12th approaches this is likely to generate more furore as the debate will increase in intensity. As if this in itself is not bad enough, it is yet another statistic in the ever increasing catalogue of wildlife crime rife across Scotland’s grouse moors. What is really astonishing is that despite having vicarious liability available there has not been a single prosecution for the killing of an eagle in Scotland, not one! I had understood that the Golden Eagle was Scotland’s national bird? There could, using https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/ be a case made that the Scottish Government is failing in its duty to protect Scotland’s wildlife. Reading the assortment of reports about the increasing wildlife crimes in Scotland as well as the UK as a whole one might even be minded to suggest a wilful blindness on the part of the politicians and respective Governments? This is disappointing as there were times when your Government appeared to be taking wildlife crime and raptor persecution particularly seriously when compared to the English Government. The Werrity Review brought a glimmer of hope. May I respectfully suggest that given this recent incident particularly, added to the fact that self-regulation has failed abysmally that you introduce measures to better regulate shooting estates ahead of a time line where driven grouse shooting is banned. The economic case for continued slaughter of native wildlife has not been proven, to the contrary there is much available that illustrates and evidences alternative options and opportunities to deliver public benefit eg https://markavery.info/2019/04/19/guest-blog-rebirding-and-grouse-moor-economics-by-ben-macdonald/ If you are unable to protect magnificent iconic species in The Cairngorms National Park, should that status be removed? How much more evidence and death is needed before you will act? I look forward to your reply or learning of some tangible action on your part so that I may reconsider my temporary absence as a tourist to Scotland (I want to support local wildlife friendly communities not perpetuate archaic feudal practices). Thank you for taking the time to read my email, Sincerely
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Very sensible approach Mark, slow but sure I think produces, in the end, better results than “throwing wobblers”. As JFK said “civility is not a sign of weakness”.
It is not always a sign of strength or moral character either. It just means that the person displaying it has had the luxury and privilege of being able to wait nicely.
In Scotland we have no excuses for not having a green, progressive country. On devolved matters we should be doing a lot better. There are a lot of books in Mr. Carbo’s library, first and foremost Independence.
Should have said ‘On some devolved matters’.
Still fuming at the treatment of Joanna Cherry and couldn’t think straight.
https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-fix/
As long as backwards monsters like Fergus Ewing and Joan McAlpine in the party, then little will change. They are too wedded to the past.
I appreciate that the SNP are in a bit of a hard place, especially with the way devolution was rigged to always produce a Lab-Lib alliance so they are forever on a paper thin majority/significant minority[1], in that their traditional heartlands are in places where the perception of shooting and ghillies as essential to the economy are particularly deeply rooted. That doesn’t excuse them from not challenging that misperception and educating voters as to why it is bollocks though.
It also doesn’t help that the media and lazy pub bore comedians has spent decades rubbishing the type of jobs that tourism and eco tourism bring as being low status as well as low paid. Keepering is low paid, but it is high status and often praised in the media and by the same pub bores. So that makes it seem more attractive. Again, that doesn’t excuse the likes of Fergus and Joan from not getting out there and trying to change that view though.
[1: Almost as if Devolution was designed in England as a marketing exercise and hamstrung to never be able to change things]