Question reference: S6W-04885
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 8 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 December 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of birds that have been killed in the last 10 years due to windfarm activity.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold complete information on the number of birds killed by windfarm activity. Prior to consent, surveys are undertaken in relation to the impact any proposed windfarm would have on bird populations. The survey results then determine whether mitigation and/or further monitoring is required and a specific condition to that effect is included in the windfarm’s consent. The information gathered from this monitoring is provided to the relevant Planning Authority. Not all windfarms have significant levels of bird activity and therefore they are not all required to report collisions.
Since 2013 NatureScot has operated a voluntary reporting scheme via their website, and have received 51 collision reports.
Some collisions are recorded by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA), and these reports are published quarterly on the SASA website and can be found here: https://www.sasa.gov.uk/wildlife-environment/wildlife-incident-investigation-scheme-wiis .