Council admits guga hunt ‘not in full compliance’ with food safety laws
Officials say they are aware the traditional guga hunt operates outside current food safety regulations. But they claim that enforcing the law is impractical. The guga hunt is the UK’s last legal seabird hunt. Every year, the “Men of Ness” travel to the remote island of Sula Sgeir to kill up to 2,000 flightless gannet chicks, which locals call guga. The birds are slaughtered and butchered on the island before being transported back to the Isle of Lewis where they are sold and consumed. Historically, the hunt provided an important source of food for isolated island communities. Today, however, it continues…
