Since the publication of the Report by the Independent Grouse Moor Management Group chaired by Professor Alan Werritty (The Werritty Report) in December 2019 there has been much discussion about whether a licensing system should be introduced for driven grouse moors. The members of the Werritty Report were apparently evenly divided with the chairman casting the deciding vote in favour of waiting five years before making a decision.

In 2018 Millden Estate in the Angus Glens was visited by Professor Werritty and his team to see an example of ‘best practice for managing grouse moors’.

In October 2019 Millden Estate was raided by the SSPCA and serious crime officers from Police Scotland. As well as evidence of animal fighting and firearms offences other evidence of alleged wildlife crime was also apparently uncovered including a number of dead raptors wrapped in bags at a number of separate locations

On the 25th of November 2020 the Scottish Government suddenly announced that the Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment Mairi Gougeon would be making a statement to Parliament the following day.

On the 26th of November 2020 Mairi Gougeon made her statement to the Scottish Parliament. and said “The key recommendation put forward in the Werritty report – is that a ‘licensing scheme be introduced for the shooting of grouse’. This is a recommendation that I accept.

However, while I the understand why the review group also recommended that such a scheme should be introduced if, after five years, ‘there is no marked improvement in the ecological sustainability of grouse moor management’, I believe that the Government needs to act sooner than this and begin developing a licensing scheme now.”

The following day, Friday 27th of November 2020 the case of Rhys Owen Davies a gamekeeper at Millden estate was due to be heard in Forfar Sheriff Court. In the event this case was continued. The can be no connection between these two events surely?

On July 29th 2022 the excellent blog at Raptor Persecution UK reported a statement from the Crown Office: ‘The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a 28 year old male and incidents said to have occurred between 1 January 2019 and 8 October 2019. After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the Procurator Fiscal decided that there should be no proceedings taken at this time. The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available‘.

On the 1st August 2022 Rhys Owen Davies, formerly a gamekeeper at Millden Estate was sent to prison for animal cruelty offences and fined for firearms offences.

ON 5th August 2022 RSPB Scotland in their blog: “The wheels of Scottish Government have seemingly turned very slowly when it comes to fulfilling its commitment to licensing driven grouse shooting and muirburn and banning burning on deep peatland soils.”

“We have been very patient, but nearly 20 months on from this announcement, we want to see some action and delivery on these promises by the Scottish Government. Proposals must be brought forward in the forthcoming Programme for Government in autumn 2022 for the introduction of grouse moor and muirburn licensing legislation in the next Parliamentary year“. 

So the questions that we are raising now are these:

Who will be responsible for issuing the licenses and what fiscal and human resources will be placed at their disposal?

What will be the procedure for suspending or withdrawing licenses and will the burden of proof required be civil rather than criminal?

Will licenses be issued in such a way that changes of corporate identity or changes of agent or employee cannot be used to avoid suspension or withdrawal?

Will license issuing and regulation be kept within the public service and be completely independent of moorland owners, their employees or customers on the one hand and campaigners against shooting on the other?

And most importantly WHEN WILL THE LICENSING SCHEME BE INTRODUCED?