Scottish Labour supports humane wildlife control and appropriate land management and we agree that overall the measures contained in the Bill are an improvements on the current wildlife and muirburn management. However, while we are supportive, Scottish Labour believe there are still issues the SNP-Green Government need to address within this Bill.
Keeping predatory wildlife under control is an important aspect of rural farming and we must ensure farmers are empowered to do so. But it should also be a priority to ensure that trapping and culling of pest species is done in the most humane way possible.
Similarly, muirburn is a needed tool to prevent wildfires which cause extensive biodiversity and land damage, but must only be used where appropriate, by those trained to do so.
Throughout the Bill’s progress through Holyrood, Scottish Labour have been working to ensure that its proposals are proportionate and strike the right balance between protecting biodiversity and animal welfare, particularly when it comes to raptor persecution and unlicenced muirburn.
While there have been some improvements made through Stage 2 of this Bill, there are still some areas of concerns, which Labour will be pressing through amendments at Stage 3