Mass Culling Of Wildlife Continues In Scotland - Campaign Update

NatureScot's lethal control licences continue to cause alarm:-
* 557 Ravens Killed in Scotland in 2023
* 2,056 Hares Killed in Scotland in 2023
* Licence Issued to Kill Hedgehogs
This mass culling of wildlife is not acceptable and must stop.

NatureScot have published their latest licence data, for 2023, detailing the lethal control of Scottish wildlife. Making this data public contributes towards more transparency and accountability from Scotland's nature agency - this being a major focus of our campaign.
A significant new development is the inclusion of licence returns data - that is the number of birds and animals that the licence holders themselves have reported were actually killed under the licence. These returns are submitted by the licence holder after each licence expires.
It was during discussions I had with NatureScot at the end of 2023, while pushing for annual licence declarations to be published, that the inclusion of this additional information in future data releases was mentioned. At the time they told me, "We plan to publish it annually so we can include the returns data and everyone can see how much lethal control was actually undertaken rather than just the numbers that were licenced."
So including the returns information is a positive development. Of course these returns rely on the integrity and honesty of the licence holder, but they do give an idea of the actual numbers killed, rather than the maximum numbers NatureScot approves to be killed.

But - what the 2023 data reveals is absolutely no cause for celebration.
The numbers of birds and animals killed in Scotland remains shockingly high. 
Brace yourselves for some figures.....

Hundreds of Ravens Culled
During 2023, 557 Ravens were reportedly culled in Scotland, under official licences issued by NatureScot.
These are the actual numbers as stated on the licence holders' returns for that year. 
According to NatureScot's application form, this licence is available to those wanting to shoot Ravens in order to "prevent serious damage to livestock".
The Raven is an iconic British species, rare and spectacular - I believe there is no justification at all to cull these magnificent birds. None whatsoever.

Thousands of Hares Culled.
Also last year, 2056 Hares were reported killed, 1187 Brown Hares and 869 Mountain Hares.
It's not looking good for Scottish hares this year either because NatureScot issued more licences to kill hares during 2024 than in 2023, meaning that thousands more hares are probably being killed in Scotland right now.
The culling of hares is completely out of step with efforts to combat a widespread depletion of nature in the UK.  As in the case of Ravens, it's highly unethical and morally unacceptable to be culling wildlife in the midst of a biodiversity crisis.

Hedgehogs
Worryingly, NatureScot issued a licence in 2023 to kill 20 Hedgehogs. According to the licence return, it seems that this quota was fulfilled.
In the past, introduced Hedgehogs have been removed from some Scottish islands due to their predation of wild birds eggs, though they were previously captured and relocated to the Scottish mainland. The suggestion that this licence permits killing the diminutive mammals is at odds with an article on NatureScot's website, relating to Hedgehog control on the isle of Uist, which says that "caught animals are passed into the care of Uist Hedgehog Rescue and translocated to the Scottish mainland."
I hope NatureScot will be able to clarify this particular licence - there can be no justification for killing one of the country's most endangered species.

Anyway, take a look at the data for yourselves, our campaign has helped to get the information out there into the public domain so that everyone can see it (and raise questions wherever necessary). This is something to be proud of, even if it does reveal a catalogue of lethal control that is highly concerning....

The data can be found via NatureScot's website HERE
Our campaign continues HERE

Thanks for your ongoing support and encouragement,
Best,
Jase