Following our look at how successful Scotland is at protecting its wildlife we will be moving on to look at the other countries that make up the United Kingdom but recent events mean that we cannot pass on without a quick mention of the latest antics of the kings of comedy in Scottish Gamekeeper’s Associaton (SGA).

Having apparently abandoned their plan to set up a political party to contest the May elections to the Scottish Parliament the SGA decided to organise a ‘rural worker’s protest’. They also hired a graphologist (or possibly two) in an attempt to suggest that a death threat that Chris Packham recieved two years ago was actually written by him. Persumably they are suggesting that this was done in some vain attempt to damage the reputation of gamekeepers.

We follow the work of Chris Packham, Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay. We have never met any of them although Ruth did briefly mention us on her blog when we started and Mark has given us a guest spot on his. We are not funded by Wild Justice or indeed any other organisation. We are a small group of individuals from various parts of the UK who believe the law as it stands should be enforced without fear or favour and are concerned when it is not. We do not always agree with the tactics or views of other individuals or groups who campaign against wildlife crime. One area in which we do have a common cause however is concern over the vast ammount of bile, threats and harassment that are directed at those who seek to have the law enforced.

We regularly receive threats of violence (including rape and arson), suggestions that we might ‘accidentally’ be shot whilst out working in isolated areas or be hit by a vehicle on some lonely country road. We are accused of bizarre and revolting sexual activities including bestiality, of planting evidence and ‘setting up’ innocent gamekeepers to gain convictions and make a political point so as to ensure shooting is banned. The attacks often start with a more reasonable approach suggesting that a post is ‘fake news’ and then are quickly followed by threats and abuse. Interestingly some of the individuals making these ‘anonymous’ threats have occasionally forgotten to properly mask their IP addresses so we are able to trace their origin. (Hi Eppi and Andy).

Threats and abuse whatever their origin and whoever their target are never acceptable but neither is other criminal behaviour. Digging for badgers and setting dogs on them, laying poison baits for raptors and shooting or trapping them, unlawful use of traps and snares. All these things are crimes too. All these things happen in the countryside and in many cases the perpetrators are gamekeepers. If people think poorly of gamekeepers perhaps it is because of their record and because organisations that support them seem to be more interested in attacking those who enforce the law or seek to have it enforced rather than the criminals who break it. The SGA makes much of the problems arising from the access legislation is Scotland. Indeed it is a problem as with so many people out in the countryside it is much more difficult to commit crime and go undetected. No wonder they want to change the law!

We are happy to work with most rural workers and country dwellers who are willing to obey the law of the land even if in some cases they don’t agree with it. We have no time however for those who want to pick and choose which laws they obey. There is no place for them in a democratic society. The current approach by the SGA does the organisation and its members no favours. It has become a parody of itself rather than a professional representative body and simply cannot be taken seriously any more.