Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will evaluate recent research from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences on the impact of reintroducing large herbivores on the richness and abundance of pollinator species, and whether it has any plans to incorporate these findings into its biodiversity strategy, land-use strategy, and future rural payment schemes.
There is evidence of the benefits of large herbivore impact on biodiversity outcomes in some circumstances from a range of contexts, including in the UK. The Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan includes an action to explore how best to support optimal herbivore densities to enhance biodiversity outcomes in the uplands. We have funded the James Hutton Institute to research the effects of different domestic grazing regimes on biodiversity at the Glen Finglas Woodland Trust site for over 20 years. The results show variable benefits to biodiversity from different grazing regimes with ‘winner and losers’ under each type of grazing. Our approach is therefore to support such interventions in nature restoration projects in the right circumstances, on a case by case basis.