Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what reassurances it can give that iconic species, particularly the red squirrel, will not have any level of reduced protection as a result of the 7th Quinquennial Review (QQR) of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing biodiversity and to protecting vulnerable species in Scotland.
Following the conclusion of the seventh Quinquennial Review the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) will submit recommendations for potential changes to the animals and plants listed under schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to the UK Government and the devolved administrations. The Scottish Government will carefully consider any recommendations made by the JNCC. However, before deciding whether to make any changes to the animals listed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, we would have to be satisfied that in doing so there would be no detrimental impact to either the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.