Wednesday 31 May 2017

SGA STATEMENT: SNH SAT TAGGED EAGLE REPORT

Statement (in full, as given to media early today): SNH Report into missing tagged eagles.
A Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “Losing, on average, 4 tagged eagles per year across Scotland is totally unacceptable. The illegal killing of any eagle is condemned wholeheartedly by the SGA and all law abiding gamekeepers.
“Although this study assimilates 12 years of evidence and makes difficult reading, it does acknowledge recent improvements in some grouse moor areas previously associated with suspected persecution.
“This change has contributed to the overall betterment of the golden eagle’s conservation status, as recently reported. 
“That said, problems clearly still exist in some hotspot areas and, in our view, this can only be tackled by all partners having access to the same telemetry data in order to arrive at shared and targeted solutions.
“If this had been happening over the past decade, there is a high likelihood these problems could have been tackled satisfactorily before now.
“The SGA does not believe the report adequately tackles the threat wind farms pose to raptor species as there is a significant amount of published data from other countries which show a negative correlation between bird survival and turbine strike.
“However, that is not an attempt in any way to detract from the report’s findings.”

Wednesday 24 May 2017

SGA MAGAZINE DELAY

Dear members, please be advised that the Summer edition of Scottish Gamekeeper is currently running slightly behind schedule for delivery due to unprecedented workload issues.

We fully expect some of the backlog to clear by the middle of next week and members should expect their magazines to be hitting doorsteps towards the end of June.

We apologise for the delay of your favourite reading material but can promise, as ever, exciting news, features and analysis in your 'eagerly awaited' Summer issue.

Yours. The Editor, Scottish Gamekeeper.

Tuesday 23 May 2017

GAMEBIRD LICENSING IN SCOTLAND


Please find (below) a message to all SGA members and those who have contacted us following the decision of the ECCLR Committee (May 23rd) to write to Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham recommending further exploration, with stakeholders, of a licensing system for ‘intensive’ grouse management systems in Scotland.


We respect the vote of the ECCLR Committee and will continue to work constructively with Scottish Government.

However, as a representative body, we take our responsibilities to our law abiding gamekeeping members- who are in the overwhelming majority- seriously, and will defend their right to go about lawful work free of fear of having their livelihoods threatened by those who will be emboldened by the potential of seeing licences revoked. 

The SGA will not defend wrongdoing, and has taken action when its position on wildlife crime has been breached. But we also believe honest working people deserve to have their rights to 

employment protected. Any decision which could ultimately see a business - in any field - ended, with resultant loss of employment, ought to be taken on the appropriate, substantive standard of proof rather than on the basis of suspicion. We view this as a fundamental right.

Friday 19 May 2017

PLEASE ANSWER CALL FOR FURTHER RATIONALE FOR TAIL SHORTENING OF WORKING DOGS


The SGA is asking all members and owners of working dogs to respond to ECCLR Committee's call for additional rationale for introducing an exemption to allow vets to shorten the tails of working Spaniels and Hunt Point Retrievers by up to a third, in the first few days of a pup's life, in order to protect the dog from greater harm in later life.

Evidence is being sought, up until noon on 1st June 2017. The requirements are to be found here: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/104836.aspx

The notice asks, specifically: The Committee is interested in receiving views on the specific provisions of the draft Regulations that provide any additional rationale on whether such an exemption for tail docking of working dogs should be permitted.

If your working dogs have experienced painful tail injury whilst working, as as result of the ban on tail shortening (see image above), please give your accounts to the Committee or if you have other experience of this issue, please take the opportunity to make your voice heard.






Tuesday 16 May 2017

FUR & FEATHER DON’T ALWAYS GO TOGETHER!

Our much-loved, four-legged furry friends give us endless amounts of joy and while out walking our dogs, it’s an added bonus to our daily activity if we see some great wildlife.
However, fur and feather don’t always mix! At this time of year, our woodlands, moorlands and farmland areas are full of ground nesting birds – species such as capercaillie, grouse, lapwings, curlews and hen harriers to name a few. These birds don’t nest up trees; they prefer the ground and are therefore so much more vulnerable to predation and disturbance.
The breeding season is now well underway – between early March and the end of July – so to protect our wildlife, the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) is asking dog walkers to keep canines under very close control or preferably on a lead.

Andy Ford, Cairngorms Nature Manager said: “When disturbed, birds may be prevented from settling, or if already nesting they will fly away from their nests, neglecting their eggs or chicks. Ground nesting birds are extremely vulnerable, and with some very rare species in the Cairngorms National Park, we need to do all we can to help them. Furthermore it is a criminal offence to disturb the nests of rare birds whether intentionally or not. This also includes disturbance caused by your dog.”

The CNPA’s advice is – wherever possible – stick to tracks or paths. If you know or suspect a nest is close by, try your best to avoid it and give a wide berth to young birds or to adult birds that seem to be distressed. There are many local walks in the Park where it may be suitable to have your dog off a lead such as along the Speyside or Deeside Way, Ellan Woods in Carr-Bridge or around Craigendarroch at Ballater.

The CNPA’s Recreation and Access Manager, David Clyne commented: “Dog walking is a great way to keep active and we want to encourage more people to walk or take part in some form of physical activity daily in the National Park for peoples’ health and wellbeing. Everyone has the same access rights whether they have a dog or not, what the Scottish Outdoor Access Code states, is that we have to exercise those rights responsibly. Yes go ahead and walk the dog but please make sure that at this time of year particularly, dogs and nesting birds are kept apart.”

For more information please visit the Scottish Outdoor Access Code website http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/Practical-guide/public/dog-walking

GET ENTRIES IN NOW FOR YOUNG GAMEKEEPER OF THE YEAR AND RONNIE ROSE AWARD 2017

Garry MacLennan receiving last year's Young Gamekeeper of the Year Award from Fergus Ewing MSP on behalf of winner Callum Low at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair at Scone.
The SGA is calling on all senior gamekeepers, college lecturers and employers to nominate candidates for the 2017 Young Gamekeeper of the Year award, by June 16th 2017.
Each year the organisation recognises an exemplary youngster in their chosen field of management on hill, river, low ground or forest. The candidate can be on placement or in early years employment and must be nominated to be considered for the award, one of the most prestigious in the sphere of game and wildlife management in Scotland.
Please send your nominations to info@scottishgamekeepers.co.uk with your candidate's name, why you feel they are deserving of the award and your own contact details.
We are also seeking nominations for the 2017 Ronnie Rose Award, by July 21st 2017. 
The Ronnie Rose Award is for individuals nominated by peers for long service and lasting contributions to conservation or education in the undertaking of game management duties. 
All nominations should be sent to the above email address, with your candidate's name, why you feel they are deserving of the award and your own contact details.

Proud winner Sandy Reid with the Ronnie Rose Award at Moy Highland Field Sports Fair in 2016.



HEN HARRIER, LEADHILLS.

In response to a story in a local newspaper that a Hen Harrier had been shot in Leadhills, a Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: "We ask all members or anyone else who knows anything about this case to give their full cooperation to Police Scotland. Such crimes are unacceptable and we condemn them unequivocally."


Friday 12 May 2017

STATEMENT: RSPB VIDEO CASE

A statement was made by RSPB Scotland this morning (May 12th) regarding the handling of a legal case by the Crown Office.

Please see, here, a SGA statement regarding this case.

A Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: "The SGA has no membership interest in this case and has an unequivocal approach to wildlife crime. Our members are made acutely aware of what is required in setting traps. Those who fail to comply should consider the affects this has on the reputation of others in the profession.
Judgements on what is admissible or not in terms of deploying video surveillance are judgements to be made by independent law officers, qualified to make them, not membership organisations like ourselves.”

Friday 5 May 2017

SGA STATEMENT: RSPB HEN HARRIER VIDEO

Please find below a response from The Scottish Gamekeepers Association regarding a story distributed this morning by RSPB Scotland.
A Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “The SGA has no membership interest in this case. It is not our place to comment, therefore, on individuals involved in the alleged incident or to provide a critique of COPFS. That is a matter for the various different interests involved in wildlife crime investigations. We trust that, had the evidence gathered been considered satisfactory by the appropriate authority, due process would have followed.
“The SGA has a clear message on wildlife crime. Any member convicted of a wildlife crime is removed from the organisation immediately. The SGA advocates solely legal methods for tackling species conflicts. More remains to be done to tackle wildlife crime in Scotland, and across Europe, but official statistics show an evidenced record of improvement in this country over a sustained five year period and the SGA are very much part of the continuing effort to see further reductions.”
Ends.

Wednesday 3 May 2017

A NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS TO FIREARMS LAW HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE POLICING AND CRIME BILL.

A number of amendments to Firearms law have been made by the Policing and Crime Bill. Three of the key changes are explained below.

Authorised Lending and Possession of Firearms (section 132)

What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment removes the uncertainty in the existing law as to who is an ‘occupier’ of premises for the purpose of lending a shotgun or rifle on that land.

What was the previous legislation?
The law previously allowed a person who was not a certificate holder to borrow a shotgun or rifle from the occupier of private premises (including land) and use it on those premises in the occupier’s presence. In the case of a rifle the law also authorised use of the rifle in the presence of the occupier’s “servant” who must hold a certificate for that rifle. Only a person aged 17 or over may have borrowed a rifle.

What has the amendment changed?
The amendment clarifies the law and provides legal certainty. The law will now allow a person, without holding a certificate, to borrow a shotgun or rifle on private premises and use that firearm in the presence of the lender or other person authorised in writing. Only a person aged 17 or over may borrow a rifle.

The new clause makes clear that the person lending the firearm must be a certificate holder aged 18 or over and can be either a person who has the right to allow others to enter the premises for the purpose of hunting animals or shooting game or vermin, or is a person authorised by them in writing.
Where a rifle is borrowed it must be used in the presence of the lender or if not the person lending then a person aged 18 or over who holds a firearm certificate in respect of the rifle borrowed. The person in whose presence the rifle is used must also, if not the lender, be a person who has the right to allow others to enter the premises for the purposes of hunting animals or shooting game or vermin, ie. he must have similar qualifications to a person who is given the ability to lend.
Where a shotgun is borrowed it must be used in the presence of the lender or if not the person lending then a person over 18 who holds a shotgun certificate and who is authorised by a person who has the right to allow others to enter the premises for the purpose of hunting animals or shooting game or vermin.

The amendment will not restrict the use to which a shotgun or rifle may be put when it is borrowed on private premises. Thus a shotgun may be used to shoot live quarry such as game or wildfowl, or for pest control or clay shooting. A rifle may be used for hunting animals or for pest control or it may be fired at artificial targets. The use of a rifle must, as at present, comply with any conditions on the certificate held in respect of that rifle.

It should be noted that a person who is authorised to lend a gun or to be present when it is being used, must be authorised ‘in writing’. It is expected that this term will be clarified in Home Office guidance. The Firearms (Electronic Communications) Order 2011 currently allows notification by email for certain purposes in connection with the Firearms Act.

Who will this help?
Previously the law did not define occupier, and the Courts had never defined the term. As such there was uncertainty as to who could lend a shotgun in many situations and many legitimate shooters were prevented from lending a gun to a friend or family member on private land because, while they might have been a member of a shooting syndicate or club, or otherwise have lawful authority to shoot over land, they were not considered the ‘occupier’.

Young people who were being taught to shoot were, previously, often obliged to hold a shotgun certificate because they were unable, lawfully, to borrow a shotgun on land where they were being coached by a parent or other adult.

The shooting world has changed considerably since the Firearms Act 1968 was enacted and nowadays more shooting is done on a syndicate (sometimes even a roaming syndicate) basis, where there is an increasing distance between the landowner or the holder of the shooting rights and those shooting on the day. This law helps the whole shooting community whether they are shooting game or targets, and marks a significant clarification of firearms legislation.

The change in the law will also assist the police as one of the unintended consequences of the previous law is the need to apply for shotgun certificates for children and young people so they could shoot under supervision when borrowing a gun from someone who was not the ‘occupier’. This is no longer necessary.

Extension of Firearms Certificates (section 133)

What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment allows a person to continue to possess firearms lawfully, for a limited period of 8 weeks following the expiry of a firearm and/or shot gun certificate, so long as the application to renew had been submitted to the police 8 weeks before the expiry date.
 What was the previous legislation?

Previously, if the applicant’s certificate ran out before the firearms licensing team had had time to renew it then the applicant was in unlawful possession. In order to remedy this, he must have either transferred his guns to another lawful holder or to a Registered Firearms Dealer. Alternatively, where the delay in renewal was down to the police firearms licensing team, the police must have issued a Section 7 Temporary Permit to ensure that his possession of firearms remained lawful. However, the applicant would still have to have transferred all Section 5 items to a Section 5 Dealer or hand them over to the police for storage, as Section 5 items cannot be held on a Temporary Permit.
What has the amendment changed?

This legislation gives the police an eight week window to complete the renewal and avoid the administrative burden of issuing a Section 7 Temporary Permit.

Who will this help?
Many people depend on their firearms for their livelihood, and the inability to use their shotguns and firearms lawfully would undermine their ability to carry out the functions of their job. Although in theory the firearms licensing team should be completing all renewals before the applicant’s existing certificate has expired, that is unfortunately not the case in practice. It is not uncommon for a renewal to take several months in some police force areas. This amendment would assist the police and firearms users and reduce the reliance of the police on Section 7 Temporary Permits
Temporary Permits were originally intended to deal with cases in which the executor of an estate needed to dispose of firearms that belonged to a deceased person. They were not meant for coping with a backlog in renewals of either shotgun or firearm certificates, but this is how they are now being used by many police forces.

It should also be noted that some of the police forces inspected by HMIC failed to issue Section 7 Temporary Permits to individuals whose certificates had expired, placing these individuals in an illegal situation through no fault of their own.

Controls on Ammunition which Expands on Impact (section 131)

What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment removes the prohibition on expanding ammunition introduced by the 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Act. Expanding ammunition would therefore revert to Section 1 of the 1968 Act. Until 1992 no-one perceived expanding ammunition as a problem, but its status was changed in the Firearms (Amendment) Regulations 1992, which appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding of the EU Weapons Directive 91/477/EEC of the 18 June 1991, which prohibited expanding pistol ammunition for certain purposes.

What was the previous legislation?
With expanding ammunition being classified as Section 5, special authority had to be given on a firearm certificate for the possession of expanding ammunition, requiring additional administration by the police. Furthermore, expanding ammunition could not be held on a Section 7 Temporary Permit. As such, where police forces used a Permit in cases where there was a delay in the renewal of a certificate those individuals who needed to use expanding ammunition in the course of their employment or for sporting purposes, could not do so.

What has the amendment changed?
The amendment has moved expanding ammunition back to Section 1 allowing firearm certificate holders to buy/hold/use the ammunition without specific derogation. Expanding ammunition for pistols remains prohibited under EU law.

Who will this help?
This will be of benefit to the over 100,000 people that participate in deer stalking every year and the many others who control pests, who will now be able to obtain their ammunition with greater ease. The amendment simplifies the licensing process, saves resources for the police and also facilitates the movement of such ammunition through the trade. Expanding ammunition is required under the Deer Act 1991 and the Deer (Firearms etc.) (Scotland) Order 1985 in order to shoot deer and is the humane option for pest control and humane dispatch. It is therefore widely possessed, and certificates were rendered more complex by the inclusion of the additional authorities to acquire and possess it. It was illogical to have a type of ammunition banned by one Act and yet required to be used by another.
Furthermore, because the reason for which authority may be granted (“the management of any estate”) refers only to estates in Britain, owners of rifles for use overseas, such as large calibre rifles designed for hunting dangerous game, are currently prohibited from possessing expanding ammunition for their rifles in this country and they may not therefore zero and practice in Britain with their rifles using the ammunition which they will be using overseas. The return of expanding ammunition to section 1 has removed this restriction.


Author and Credit to Jack Knott at Countryside Alliance