A squad of hunters spell to the tiny land of Sula Sgeir to termination young gannets
BySteven McKenzie
Highlands and Islands reporter
Permission has been refused for a guga hunt which would person seen hundreds of young seabirds killed connected an uninhabited Hebridean island.
For centuries, gannet chicks person been hunted for their nutrient each summertime connected Sula Sgeir, a tiny rocky land 40 miles (64km) northbound of Ness connected Lewis.
Modern hunts necessitate a licence from nationalist bureau NatureScot, which rejected the exertion this twelvemonth owed to concerns astir the interaction connected the gannet population.
Animal payment groups person welcomed the decision, but supporters accused campaigners of "bullying" a tiny land community.
The determination to garbage a licence for Scotland's past remaining guga hunt this twelvemonth was taken by NatureScot's committee pursuing a proposal by officials.
Image source, Getty Images
Gannet chicks connected Bass Rock were erstwhile hunted and sold successful a marketplace successful Edinburgh
Hunting seabirds connected Sula Sgeir goes backmost to the clip of the Vikings, according to historiographer Donald S Murray, writer of the publication The Guga Hunters.
Murray told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that historically birds were a captious root of nutrient for radical surviving successful Ness, Lewis, connected the North Atlantic coast.
He said the country had "geographical difficulties". Rough seas made sportfishing hazardous and determination were challenges astir the quantity and prime of the land, which was mostly moorland.
"It was a lawsuit of survival," said Murray.
A radical of 10 islanders, known arsenic the Men of Ness, would walk astir 10 days successful August harvesting chicks, which are known arsenic guga.
In the past, different parts of Scotland - including Orkney and Shetland - besides had seabird hunts.
On St Kilda, before the archipelago was abandoned successful 1930, birds were killed for their nutrient and besides oils for substance and waterproofing, portion the feathers were utilized for covering and bedding. Eggs were besides collected arsenic food.
Gannet chicks taken from Bass Rock successful the Firth of Forth were sold successful a marketplace successful Edinburgh.
The nutrient has been described arsenic tasting similar a transverse betwixt kipper and steak oregon "salty goose" and, little flatteringly, arsenic "rotten leather and fishy beef", external.
Other descriptions person included it being similar a premix of anchovy paste and high-strength cod liver oil.
What are the arguments for and against the hunt?
Image source, Getty Images
Campaigners extracurricular the Scottish parliament during a protestation successful January
Opponents accidental the hunt is nary longer needed to provender islanders and picture the method utilized to termination the chicks arsenic cruel.
Harvesting methods person remained mostly traditional, according to a study by the Scottish Seabird Centre, external.
Hunters usage agelong poles fitted with a noose to drawback chicks successful their nests earlier being killed, usually by a stroke to the head.
The birds are gutted, plucked and salted connected Sula Sgeir earlier being taken by vessel to Lewis wherever they are counted by a NatureScot official.
Harvests did not instrumentality spot successful 2022, 2023 and 2024 due to concerns astir vertebrate flu.
A full of 485 birds were taken astatine the 2025 hunt. Hunters had sought a licence to instrumentality either 2,000 oregon 500 birds this year.
Sula Sgeir and adjacent North Rona are covered by peculiar country extortion (SPA) designation, external owed to their seabirds, which besides see fulmers.
Image source, Getty Images
Opponents accidental the hunt involves a "brutal death" for chicks
Devon Docherty, Scottish campaigns manager astatine Protect the Wild, said refusing a licence was a "victory for compassion, for subject and for communal sense".
She added: "Thousands of young seabirds person been spared from a brutal decease due to the fact that NatureScot chose to travel the grounds alternatively than simply rubber-stamp different licence to kill."
More than 106,000 radical signed a petition, external calling for the Scottish authorities to prohibit the hunt.
The taste value of the hunt is recognised nether the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and modern hunts necessitate a licence from NatureScot.
Image source, Peter Jolly/Northpix
NatureScot's premises successful Inverness were vandlised earlier this year
Agnes Rennie, is seat of Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, the section assemblage onshore radical for the northbound of Lewis. She said: "The guga hunt is simply a centuries-old contented which reinforces our unsocial communal individuality and helps families support past Gaelic customs live and applicable successful the modern world."
Historian Donald S Murray said nutrient information was not guaranteed, and argued that the hunt was not unique.
He said that successful New Zealand sooty shearwater, besides known arsenic muttonbirds, were traditionally hunted connected Rakiura, which is besides known arsenic Stewart Island.
Murray described the run against the guga hunt arsenic "monstrous".
Anti-guga hunt graffiti was sprayed connected walls astatine NatureScot's office successful Inverness successful February, and was followed by a rooftop protestation successful March.
Murdo MacRitchie, of the Save Our Guga Harvest group, said peaceful protestation was "entirely legitimate", but criticised immoderate of the opposition.
Ahead of NatureScot's committee meeting, helium said: "People successful Ness volition understandably consciousness that this proposal risks rewarding a run successful which members of a tiny land assemblage person been bullied and abused and publicly-owned spot has been vandalised."
He said Sula Sgeir's gannet colonisation projections were "positive" and helium could not recognize wherefore a harvest of 500 birds was not supported by officials.
How did NatureScot travel to its decision?
NatureScot said it assessed the exertion against authorities and utilized the astir caller technological evidence.
A spokesperson said: "We person utilized the latest accusation disposable and commissioned an updated colonisation exemplary to assistance foretell the effect of the guga hunt connected the gannet population.
"As a result, we person concluded an adverse interaction is possible, some astatine the applicants' requested exertion bounds of 2,000 juvenile gannets, and astatine a reduced bounds of 500."
Board members agreed to garbage support for hunt this year.
The spokesperson added: "This determination does not forestall the Men of Ness applying for, and obtaining, a licence successful aboriginal years.
"The hunt is recognised successful instrumentality nether the Wildlife and Countryside Act and NatureScot has a work to see immoderate licence exertion based upon the champion disposable science."
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