Chamber and committees

Marine Scotland has already produced guidance and a code of practice for licences issued under section 110 (1)(f) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, these can be located at www.scotland.gov.uk/seallicensing. It will consider similar guidance for other licence purposes where appropriate.

 

The Scottish Coastal Forum (SCF) was set up by ministerial invitation in 1996 with a remit to

Encourage a voluntary, sustainable and holistic approach to the management of Scotland''s coasts through the formation of local coastal fora;

Act as the national focus for coastal issues and co-ordinate the dissemination of advice on best practice;

Reflect views and aspirations of local fora for the coast of Scotland and guide a national policy framework within which local initiatives can operate, and

Advise Government in the development of coastal policies for Scotland.

Following the passing of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, it was agreed that the Scottish Coastal Forum would have a particular role in supporting the setting up of Marine Planning Partnerships during the transition to the new post-marine act regime.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37780 on 3 December 2010. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

 

The new maternal and early years website was developed by NHS Health Scotland and the cost was met fully through their core funding. The website will be maintained by NHS Health Scotland.

Scottish Natural Heritage, through the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime Scotland fund, provided funding of £2,438 to the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, towards the training of snaring course instructors, to enable them to provide training for others in the use of snares that is compliant with best practice as regards animal welfare and as regards the law on snaring, including the proposed new regulation of snaring in the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill.

A joint industry briefing document The Consequence of a Snaring Ban for Rural Scotland published by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, National Farmers Union Scotland, Scottish Estates Business Group, Scottish Rural Property and Business Association and the National Sheep Association in 2008, clearly sets out how controlling predators such as foxes is vital to the shooting industry and that snaring is in some circumstances the only tool available for such control.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) database only records offences under the primary legislation, in this case Section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and not offences under the Snares (Scotland) Order 2010. We are aware however that at least four individual cases have been reported to the COPFS by police forces for offences under the Snares (Scotland) Order 2010.

The Scottish Government has been involved in drafting the content of the courses currently being run by (a) Scottish Gamekeepers Association, (b) Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and (c) British Association for Shooting and Conservation and is content that the snaring courses adequately address the issue of the welfare of animals caught in snares. When the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill comes into force, the Scottish Government will lay an order before Parliament setting out the content of the training course.

The Scottish Government shares the view of Jonathan Hall, Head of Rural Policy at the National Farmers Union Scotland, who gave evidence at the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee meeting held at Langholm on 7 September 2010 in relation to the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill. Mr Hall stated that The hill farming view on snaring is that it remains an absolutely vital tool in protecting livestock, particularly lambs around lambing time, from fox predation and so on. and The loss of snaring would have extremely adverse consequences for hill farming in particular.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were involved in meetings with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, and the Scottish Government, and had a significant input into animal welfare issues relating to the content of the snaring training courses run by these organisations. Mike Flynn, Chief Superintendent of the SSPCA gave evidence at the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee meeting held at Langholm on 7 September 2010 in relation to the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill and stated that he was satisfied that any snare operator following the training courses would be compliant with the law in this respect.