One week ago, NatureScot rejected the 2026 Guga hunt licence. Now comes the bigger fight: making sure it never returns.
The timing could not be more important. Right now, the Scottish Government is setting its priorities for the year ahead, which will be announced when Parliament returns from summer recess in just a few weeks. This gives us a crucial window to put ending the Guga hunt firmly on the agenda. If we want to see the law changed and the hunt of baby Gannets ended for good, now is the moment to make our voices heard.
The special legal provision allowing the Guga hunt originally dates back to the 1950s.
Back then, perhaps Guga still provided essential sustenance in times of food scarcity and hardship. But more than 70 years later, that is absolutely not the case and it’s time for the law to reflect this new reality.
The exemption allowing the Guga hunt was carried forward into the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA), which is the law that governs it today. Section 16 of the Act allows Gannets to be taken from Sula Sgeir under licence from NatureScot for the purpose of human consumption.
We’re asking the Government to commit to amending Section 16 and removing that exemption from the law as soon as possible.
NatureScot’s recent decision to reject the 2026 licence only reinforces the need to end the hunt for good. Its scientific assessment found that even a massively reduced kill limit would undermine conservation objectives and hinder the long-term recovery of Sula Sgeir’s Gannet population. Gannets already face significant pressures from avian flu, bycatch and offshore wind development - pressures that will persist and may intensify in the years ahead. They cannot afford another entirely avoidable threat. The deliberate killing of these birds must end.
This hunt is not only unnecessary - it is inherently inhumane. Young Gannets are taken from their parents and subjected to the barbaric practice of being killed by blunt force trauma.
With 77% of Scots with a view opposed to the hunt, the Scottish Government has a responsibility to listen and act.
Please take 30 seconds to send off an email to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, Gillian Martin, and call on the Scottish Government to act now, end the Guga hunt and give Sula Sgeir’s Gannets the lasting protection they need.
I’ll be honest, we need more Gannet guardians. That’s people who give us a few pounds every month to help us fund the campaign against the Guga hunt.
We had great news last week, but we can’t pretend the job is done. The law hasn’t changed. Another application will be made next year.
And we need to know we have the funds needed to see this campaign through its next (and hopefully final) stage of changing the law to end Guga hunt for good. We don’t have a huge campaign machine behind us. What we have is a growing group of people who care deeply about these birds - and every donation helps us keep this fight going.
If you set up a monthly donation today, we will send you a limited-edition gannet plushie - yours to keep as a reminder of the difference you’re helping make :)
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