Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, announced on 11.1.2017, answering Andy Wightman MSP's PQ no. S5W-05930 of 22.12.2016: "VisitScotland has approved a grant of £17,925 to the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group to promote Scotland as the destination of choice for all country sports. The Group will use this to develop content and supporting digital activity to attract visitors from across the UK and Scandinavia." However, the directive allowing this is dated 2014-2016, so need not be applied in the present year.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing MSP, has supported such moves on grounds of the revenue they are expected to bring in. But we reject the callous devaluation of animals’ lives for the sake of money, which could be gained by humane eco-tourism in this rich country. Even if the killing is deemed ‘sustainable’ or ‘humane’, one would not accept the taking of human life on such a basis, and animals value their lives as much as we value ours.
In the argument presented by the Cabinet Secretary, the suggested tourism campaign is "expected to take tourism spending from £155m to £185m come 2020" (Herald Aug 6 2016). Yet the Scottish Government does not accept such arguments in favour of Trident; why should the killing of animals warrant support on such grounds?
Nor, in most people's view, is it warranted on grounds of sporting pleasure, as witnessed by the widespread approval of the foxhunting ban. Even for the majority outside our animal-rights movement, non-killing of animals is the default principle, with reasons needed for deviating from it. Most people do offer reasons, such as food and experiments, but do not regard money or sport as an adequate reason.
When Sarah Troughton, chairwoman of SCSTG, refers to "the unique and evocative combination of sport, scenery and hospitality" offered by such activities, she overlooks the fact that, as pointed out by Fiona Pereira of Animal Aid, "The heather-rich moors that are extolled as being wild and natural are nothing of the sort – they are amongst the most manipulated landscape, the sole purpose of which is to encourage grouse to breed, just so they can be blasted from the sky come August 12."
This hardly differs from the 'canned hunting' that is widely condemned; and just as peaceful viewing activities are offered as an alternative to that, so wildlife watching is a popular tourist activity in Scotland, with several tourist agencies advertising it.
Scotland has a progressive image. It banned foxhunting 2 years ahead of England, and animal circuses have all but disappeared here due to public rejection and council bans. Do we want our message to the world to be: ‘Come to Bonnie Scotland and kill animals’?
We have raised a petition on Change.org urging the Scottish Government to withhold official support from the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group’s drive to attract international tourists to engage in ‘Scottish country sports’ such as grouse shooting, deer stalking, and fishing. This petition has collected 493 signatures to date.