The Scottish Gamekeepers Association has issued the following statement regarding the story of two missing Eagles in Perthshire, which was released today.
A Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “Where there is evidence wildlife crime has taken place, the SGA acts and acts robustly, as we have done on 7 occasions in the past 7 years by expelling members who have committed wildlife crime offences. We have a very strict policy regarding this.
"We have been heartened by record low wildlife crime rates in Scotland, according to Scottish Government’s own official statistics, but we have concerns regarding missing satellite tagged birds which are being monitored by non-independent agencies.
"There is a need for everyone to better understand the discrepancy between independent figures verified by Police Scotland and Government agencies, showing a clear and consistent pattern of declining raptor crime in Scotland, and cases which are brought by outside bodies on the back of missing satellite tags.
"Some of these outside bodies have both an investigative and a campaigning role which we feel can blur the line between seeking prosecutions and seeking publicity for campaigns, such as the present campaign to legislate or ban grouse shooting.
"That is why The Scottish Gamekeepers Association intends to petition Parliament so these tags can be monitored independently, giving Police Scotland, Scottish Government and the Scottish public greater openness and understanding of what is going on.
"We understand, despite extensive and thorough searches by the Police, that no evidence of a wildlife crime was discovered on the land in question.”
Ends.
For more on the SGA petition and the reasons behind it, see: https://news.
- The Scottish Gamekeepers Association lodged the Petition wording with Petitions clerks at Holyrood on Monday June 24th 2019.
