Official Report 517KB pdf
Our final continued petition is PE2202, which was published in November 2025 and lodged by Rachel Bigsby. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to remove the power to grant licences for taking gannets on Sula Sgeir. Donald MacKinnon, the member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, has expressed an interest in the petition. In addition to submissions from the petitioner, NatureScot and the Scottish Government, the committee received an unsolicited submission from Protect the Wild.
NatureScot’s response to the committee outlines the reasoning for the decision that it took on 3 August 2026 not to grant a licence to the men of Ness for a guga hunt in 2026. The response states that NatureScot used the latest information available and commissioned an updated population model to help to predict the effect of the guga hunt on the gannet population. As a result, NatureScot concluded that an adverse impact is possible both at the applicant’s requested application limit of 2,000 juvenile gannets and at a reduced limit of 500. On that basis, the NatureScot board refused the 2026 licence.
The petitioner also made reference to the NatureScot decision and argued that the committee should keep the petition open and recommend that the Scottish Government consider the legislative amendment that is requested by the petition, so that the gannets of Sula Sgeir are afforded lasting protection instead of protection that is determined merely one licence application at a time.
In its legacy report, the session 6 Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee invited the new committee to consider the issues that are raised in the petition, recommending that any further work to explore the issues raised should consider a range of views and ensure that the voices of islanders are heard.
In the first instance, I invite our colleague Mr MacKinnon to address us.
Thank you, convener, and all members of the committee, for having me here to speak to PE2202 on behalf of my constituents in the community of Ness in Lewis. For hundreds of years, men from Ness have made the journey north to Sula Sgeir to harvest guga—young gannets—passing skills and knowledge down through the generations. The harvested birds are shared out among the Ness community and are often enjoyed as family meals. From the harvesting to the eating of the birds, guga have deep cultural significance to the people of Ness.
As the committee has heard, section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 allows for the taking of guga from the island of Sula Sgeir, subject to a licence being granted. The granting of a licence is tightly regulated by NatureScot, as demonstrated by the decision in August not to grant the application for a licence on the basis of population modelling. NatureScot also considered animal welfare in its determination of the licence, and its board heard that the chief veterinary officer considered the method of dispatch to be humane. The Scottish Government has, quite rightly, indicated that it does not intend to amend section 16 of the 1981 act.
I understand that the petitioners have sincere concerns, but I cannot ignore the wider campaign that has sought to vilify the community of Ness, othering them and trying to portray them and other people of our islands as backward, which has been deeply distressing for many of my constituents.
On the basis of the regulatory process that already exists, the view of the chief vet on the method of dispatch and the position of the Scottish Government, it is my view that the committee should close PE2202. However, if the committee intends to continue to consider the petition, it is essential that you take evidence from the affected communities and that you visit Ness in my constituency.
I invite members of the committee to comment.
In the light of the public interest across Scotland, I wonder whether we should keep the petition open and take further evidence from NatureScot and other representatives to hear their views on it. There is a huge amount of public interest in the guga hunt across Scotland, not just on the islands.
Do any of our colleagues have views on this matter?
I am content.
I appreciate Mr MacKinnon’s contribution this morning. There is a significant level of public interest in the petition and, given that it has been under consideration for just a year, it might be useful for us as a new committee to gather further evidence on the matters that pertain to it. I appreciate the invitation to visit Ness, which we will certainly consider.
In the first instance, we should keep the petition open and gain further representations from NatureScot, the petitioner and representatives of the local community to further inform our views before coming to a final view on the petition’s longer-term future in the parliamentary session. There is a reasonable balance to strike at this stage. Does everyone agree on that approach?
Members indicated agreement.
Again, I appreciate Mr MacKinnon for joining us on behalf of his constituents. We will keep in touch.